Arc 4 Chapter 9 : Siege

[Elena POV]

After three days of marching, our main army finally caught sight of the Republic of Venetia's first line of defense—the Fortress City of Regium.

Its walls stood fifteen meters high, making them a formidable obstacle that would be difficult for our forces to breach.

Our army was currently setting up camp approximately two kilometers away from the city's walls.

"Princess Elena, are you inspecting the enemy wall?"

Hearing someone call out to me, I turned to the side.

A man in his early thirties was walking toward me. He was Vandal de Monstruo—the second son of the Monstruo Family.

He was an Animagus Wizard, a mage capable of transforming his body into that of a monster. Lord Vandal was the leader of the Monster Squad, a unit consisting entirely of Animagus Wizards.

"You are correct, Lord Vandal. I'm curious how long it will take us to capture that city," I replied. "From what I can see, the fortress walls are quite high and sturdy. I doubt even our magic will make it easy to bring them down."

"You are giving those Venetians too much credit, Princess Elena," Lord Vandal said. "The Venetians are no match for us, who possess the power of magic. The real battle will begin once the armies of their allies arrive in this region."

I wasn't surprised by Lord Vandal's dismissive words.

It was true that a nation possessing Knights and Wizards held a considerable advantage in warfare over those without them. That was precisely why our nation was regarded as the strongest in the world—we possessed more Knights and Wizards than any other nation on this continent.

Even so, I didn't want to underestimate them.

I had seen it far too many times before. An opponent who appeared weak could still destroy someone stronger than them, even when that opponent possessed superior strength or overwhelming numbers.

"Lord Vandal, I see the Wizards lining up in front of our camp. Are we about to begin the assault?" I asked.

"The Wizard units have been ordered to eliminate the archers stationed atop the city walls," Lord Vandal explained, rubbing his chin. "The Earth Elemental Wizards will create Golems to approach the walls. Once the archers' attention is drawn toward the Golems, the infantry will carry their ladders forward and begin climbing the walls to secure them."

I see.

The Cavalry Squadron under my command would not be participating in this assault. We would only be deployed for open-field battles or escort missions.

I looked toward the infantry troops as they began forming up in front of the camp.

The Third Caballero Unit and Fourth Caballero Unit would be the first to advance in this initial assault.

Ten Wizards stepped forward from the formation of soldiers and began chanting their spells.

"Earthborn Amalgam!"

"Earthborn Amalgam!"

As soon as they finished chanting, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Ten Golems, each standing fifteen meters tall, rose from enormous mounds of earth, taking shape through the Wizards' magic.

The Golems they had created were even larger than the one Valeria had summoned during the survival exam!

"They're Senior Wizards. Creating Golems of this size is easy for them," Lord Vandal explained.

"But wouldn't that consume much more Mana?" I asked.

"Indeed. The larger the Golem they create, the greater the amount of Mana required," Lord Vandal replied with a smile. "However, we are Wizards. Our Mana capacity is far greater than a Knights."

Ah... Right.

I'd nearly forgotten about that.

Turning my attention back toward the battlefield, the Golems were now one kilometer away from the fortress walls.

I could also see the Wizards controlling them walking approximately one hundred meters behind the Golems they had created.

There seemed to be a certain range within which they could freely control their Golems.

Nine hundred meters...

Eight hundred meters...

The ten Golems continued advancing toward the city walls.

The archers stationed atop the walls began firing arrows at them.

Yet every single attack was futile.

Not even one arrow managed to pierce the body of a Golem.

"Haha! They're complete fools! How could mere arrows possibly destroy giant Golems created through magic?" Lord Vandal shouted with booming laughter.

The Golems continued forward without stopping until they had reached a distance of five hundred meters from the city walls.

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Suddenly, three of the ten Golems collapsed onto the ground.

Something had struck their legs with enough force to destroy them.

"What just happened?" Lord Vandal muttered, clearly confused.

I activated Eagle Eye.

Through the distance, I could faintly make out smoke rising from some kind of object positioned atop the walls. Several people were also loading something into the smoking device.

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Once again, the same deafening sound echoed across the battlefield.

This time, all of the giant Golems created by the Wizards collapsed onto the ground.

The ten Wizards immediately retreated, putting distance between themselves and the battlefield so they wouldn't become targets for the archers stationed atop the walls.

"It seems the Republic of Venetia possesses several weapons capable of countering our magic," I muttered, resting a hand against my chin as I considered what had just happened.

"Tch. Our magic is capable of far more than this!" Lord Vandal snapped, visibly irritated. "I'll show those Non-Sorcerers what true 'terror' means after this!"

Lord Vandal then turned around and left me standing there alone.

After witnessing the Wizards' Golems being destroyed, the two Caballero units that had been lined up in front of the camp also dispersed and returned to their respective tents.

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Our first assault had ended in failure.

[Ezio POV]

Their first assault had failed.

The ten stone monsters they had created were destroyed almost instantly after being struck by cannon fire—an entirely new form of artillery developed by our nation thanks to the guidance of Chief Siena.

"Hey, Stefano. Do you think we can hold them off until the forces from the Republic of Greco arrive?" I asked one of my fellow members of the Cavalier Squad.

"Nah. Considering how those stone monsters were destroyed instantly, just like yesterday, I think we can hold them here for an entire month!" Stefano replied before continuing to eat his breakfast.

We were currently in the cafeteria, having breakfast so that we would remain in peak condition when the real battle finally began.

"Don't worry about it, Ezio. Even though our enemy is supposedly the strongest nation in the world, there's no way they can defeat the combined forces of three nations!" Stefano declared confidently.

"You're right about that, Stefano. But it's already been a month since the war began, and my sword is still clean of enemy blood!"

I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that I still had to wait for my chance to fight in this war.

"Well, if those Imperial dogs were standing right in front of me, I'd cut them down until—"

—Brak!

I never heard Stefano finish his sentence.

The building we were eating in suddenly collapsed.

My body was thrown to the side as dust filled the air, obscuring my vision and covering everything around me.

"Damn it! What the hell happened!?"

"Arrgghh! My leg! My leg is trapped beneath a chunk of stone!"

Everyone was panicking.

I pushed myself to my feet and looked around.

A massive boulder had apparently fallen from somewhere and crashed into the building, causing the chaos around us.

"Stefano! Where are you!?" I shouted, calling out for my companion.

I moved toward the enormous stone lying directly in the middle of the cafeteria.

There, I saw several people lying motionless, killed by the impact of the fallen boulder.

Blood and human organs were scattered everywhere.

Then, suddenly, my foot stepped onto something soft and slightly wet.

I looked down.

This time, I saw Stefano's condition.

His body had been crushed, his arms and legs bent in unnatural directions. His eyes were wide open, while blood poured from his open mouth.

What I had accidentally stepped on was what remained of Stefano's intestines, scattered across the floor after being torn from his body.

I could even see fragments of the breakfast he had just eaten, not yet fully digested.

He must have died instantly when the enormous boulder crushed the dining table where we had been sitting.

I stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened.

A companion I had known for three years had suddenly died a gruesome death in the blink of an eye.

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!

Once again, I heard the deafening sound of something crashing down.

I rushed out of the cafeteria.

Several nearby buildings had been destroyed by boulders similar in size to the one that had struck the cafeteria.

I looked up at the sky.

Several enormous rocks were flying through the air before falling toward the city.

I immediately rushed toward the city walls.

Everyone was in a panic because of what had just happened.

Was the Imperial army attacking us again?

But how was that possible?

Hadn't their stone monsters been destroyed by our cannons yesterday?

"Take cover! The enemy is bombarding us! Get to cover, quickly!"

The situation had descended into complete chaos.

"Ezio! Where are you going!?"

I turned around after suddenly hearing my name.

A woman with short black hair tied into a ponytail was approaching me while carrying a rifle that looked slightly different from the others.

"Marcela, I'm heading up to the walls to find out what's happening!" I answered. "Have you seen any of the other members of the Squad?"

"Not at all," she replied, shaking her head. "Where's Stefano? Weren't you with him just now?"

Her question cast a heavy shadow over my heart.

I didn't want to talk about my companion's death right now. There was something more important that needed to be done.

"He was killed by a massive boulder," I answered briefly. "We should hurry up to the walls. You'll have more freedom to use your abilities up there, won't you?"

"Y-Yes. You're right! Let's go!"

She answered with a slight stammer.

Stefano's death had clearly shocked her as well.

The two of us began running.

Ahead of us was a staircase leading to one of the archer towers positioned atop the city walls.

As we climbed the stairs, the city walls suddenly shook violently, nearly causing Marcela and me to fall.

Up above, I could see the Gunners—the personnel responsible for operating the cannons—loading the cannons stationed on the walls with cannonballs.

"Aim...!" one of the operators shouted, signaling everyone to prepare to fire.

I looked toward the battlefield.

The same giant stone monsters from yesterday were lifting enormous boulders.

So they were the ones responsible for the bombardment that had destroyed several buildings in the city.

"Fire!"

—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM...! BOOM! BOOM!

Several cannonballs shot toward the giant stone monsters.

However, none of our cannon fire managed to reach its targets.

All of the giant stone monsters were positioned beyond the cannons' effective range!

"Prepare yourselves! Another attack is coming!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Every one of the giant stone monsters hurled its enormous boulder toward us.

Marcela and I immediately ducked behind the wall for cover.

—SWOOOOSH!

Several boulders flew directly over our heads before crashing into buildings throughout the city.

Some struck the walls themselves, causing the entire structure to tremble violently under the impact.

"Marcela! You're a Sniper, aren't you? Can you shoot the Wizards behind those giant stone monsters and stop their attack!?" I asked my fellow Squad member.

"All right. Let's see," Marcela said as she stood up and looked toward the giant stone monsters. "Hmm... Roughly one thousand meters, huh? I think it'll be quite difficult to hit them from here, Ezio."

"You have to hit them! If you don't, those monsters will destroy more buildings and increase the number of casualties even before the battle has properly begun!"

After hearing me ramble on, Marcela fell silent and looked around.

She then suddenly began running toward the tower.

I followed her from behind.

The two of us climbed to the top of the tower.

Marcela began aiming at the Wizards positioned behind the giant stone monsters.

She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

Five seconds...

Ten seconds...

Marcela still hadn't pulled the trigger of the rifle in her hands.

The giant stone monsters appeared ready to launch another attack.

"Marcela, those giant stone monsters are about to—"

"Be quiet, Ezio."

Before I could finish my sentence, Marcela interrupted me in a cold voice.

"I'm concentrating. Watch closely and witness the beauty of my shot."

I nodded.

But my heart was pounding violently as the monsters began throwing another barrage of boulders toward us.

—Bang!

Suddenly, Marcela pulled the trigger.

The city wall shook as the boulders hurled by the monsters slammed into it.

But I saw one of the ten monsters suddenly shatter and collapse to the ground.

"Headshot. Target neutralized..." Marcela muttered.

"You can kill a Wizard from this distance!? Your shooting skills really are the best!" I praised her.

Marcela merely smiled.

She then worked the action of her rifle, ejecting the spent casing.

After loading a new bullet, she immediately aimed at the Wizards again.

—Bang!

Once again, Marcela hit one of the Wizards without missing.

She continued firing until she had brought down four Wizards, leaving only six of the giant stone monsters remaining.

"Marcela, those rocks are coming this way! It looks like they've figured out your position!" I shouted, warning her. "We need to move before those boulders hit us!"

However, Marcela ignored my warning and remained focused on the Wizards in her sights.

The boulders were already beginning to descend toward us.

If we didn't move now, we would definitely be crushed by one of them!

Realizing this, I immediately moved and picked Marcela up, carrying her away from the tower.

"Ah! What are you doing, Ezio!? I had already locked onto his head!" Marcela protested angrily.

But I ignored her and jumped from the top of the tower.

—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A deafening series of impacts erupted behind us as the boulders slammed into the tower we had been standing on.

The tower cracked along its front before collapsing and crashing to the ground.

I landed safely while still carrying Marcela in both arms.

She climbed down from my arms and immediately gave me an irritated glare.

"What? I just saved both our lives!" I protested.

She didn't respond.

Instead, she merely gave me an annoyed look before raising her rifle and aiming at the Wizards again.

"Huh? Something's strange," Marcela said.

"The giant stone monsters are holding barrels in their hands now."

She was right.

What exactly were they planning to do with those barrels?

I couldn't imagine how wooden barrels could possibly destroy buildings or the fortress walls.

The giant stone monsters then hurled the barrels they were each holding into the air.

I looked upward.

I saw five barrels soaring high above us, traveling all the way toward the middle of the Fortress City of Regium.

The barrels began falling from the sky.

But suddenly, all five shattered.

Five transformed humans emerged from inside, each one biting into their own wrist.

"I'll show you lowly Non-Sorcerers the might of us—Wizards!" one of them shouted. "Gigante del Toro!"

"Gigante del Toro!"

"Gigante del Toro!"

After they shouted those words, a bolt of yellow lightning suddenly struck all five of them.

A deafening crack of thunder echoed across the city.

But what I saw next caused my eyes to widen in disbelief.

The five men suddenly transformed into gigantic beasts!

A Dog, a Bear, a Bull, a Tiger, and a Gorilla.

They all landed in the middle of the city, causing the ground to shake and destroying the buildings surrounding their landing point.

—ROOOAAARRRR!

The five giant monsters roared so loudly that a shockwave spread through the city.

Even from this distance, I could feel it.

"My goodness, Ezio..." Marcela muttered, sounding both amazed and frightened as she stared at the five monsters. "What exactly are we dealing with this time?"

Only then did I realize it.

All of the boulders they had thrown earlier had merely been an opening move—a way to clear the landing zone for those five monsters by driving our forces away.

"I don't know, Marcela."

I stared at the five gigantic beasts standing in the heart of Regium.

"But one thing's certain."

"This battle has only just begun."