Chapter 152: Sky Ablaze

The squad leaders, having heard Arthur’s orders, raised their hands.

’’SPEAR FORMATION!’’

Their commands echoed out one after another across the wall.

Despite the chaos, the spearmen and soldiers didn’t hesitate one bit.

They began retreating slightly, giving the Deres soldiers more space.

Alas... that’s what it looked like at first.

Within moments, the spearmen had formed a tightly packed line, their weapons pointing toward the enemy.

’’PUSH!’’

The line instantly moved forward.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The spears smashed into shields and carved through armor and skin.

But they didn’t stop.

They weren’t trying to kill every enemy in front of them.

Their goal was much simpler.

Push them off the wall.

’’FUCK!’’

’’HOLD STRONG!’’

The Deres soldiers squirmed, their feet getting closer and closer to the edge.

On the other side, the spearmen also began shouting.

’’PUSH THESE FUCKERS OFF!’’

’’PUSHHH!’’

Step after step, the spearmen pushed forward.

Despite their desperate resistance, the Deres soldiers simply couldn’t withstand the formation.

’’HELP ME!’’

A shout suddenly echoed out.

One of the Deres soldiers had lost his footing.

Desperation filled his eyes as he tumbled backwards off the wall.

Several more quickly followed.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Their bodies crashed into the soldiers climbing the ladders below, sending even more men falling toward the ground.

’’GOOD! KEEP GOING!’’ a squad leader shouted, his voice filled with excitement.

As the spearmen continued pushing forward, more and more space opened up behind them.

The archers immediately took advantage of this, returning to their positions with incendiary arrows ready.

Meanwhile, the enormous siege machines continued their slow advance.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

With every passing moment, the distance between them and the city walls decreased.

Arthur watched their approach carefully.

’’ARCHERS!’’ he commanded. ’’READY!’’

A hundred archers nocked their arrows, keeping their bows lowered as they waited for the command to ignite them using the nearby fire pits.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of clashing weapons continued echoing across the walls.

Although the spear formations had successfully pushed back most of the Deres soldiers, the enemy hadn’t given up.

Far from it.

’’GET BACK UP THERE!’’

’’SHIELD FORMATION!’’

The Deres soldiers immediately gathered around the ladders, raising their shields and forming a defensive circle.

Whitemane spearmen pushed forward with all their might.

But against these new formations, it became significantly more difficult.

Just then, a voice rang out behind Roderic.

’’Young master!’’

Turning around, Roderic was met with Sir Benjamin, carrying a bundle of short swords, daggers, and spears in his arms.

’Oho?’

Roderic’s eyes lit up as a wide smile appeared on his face.

Coming to a halt, Benjamin dropped the weapons to the ground.

’’I managed to find these,’’ he said. ’’Will they do?’’

Picking up a dagger, Roderic nodded slowly.

’’They are just perfect,’’ he replied.

Before either could say another word, he spun around.

WHOOSH!

The dagger shot towards a group of Deres soldiers.

Before any of them could react, it slipped through a narrow gap between two shields.

PUCHI!

The dagger sliced through one soldier’s ear before burying itself deep in the throat of another standing behind him.

Without even understanding what had happened, the man collapsed onto the ground.

Roderic raised an eyebrow.

’I’d clearly aimed for the front one,’ he thought, glancing at the dagger. ’These blades are pretty different compared to my own, huh...’

After a moment, he shrugged lightly.

’Whatever. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.’

Placing a bundle of six daggers underneath his arm, his smile widened.

Without another thought, he pulled one out and threw it forward with all his might.

SWISH!

The blade pierced deep into the shoulder of a Deres soldier.

Roderic didn’t even think and pulled out another.

Adjusting his aim slightly, another dagger flew out towards the same group.

PUCHI!

The dagger buried itself directly between one of the front soldiers’ eyes.

’’Ah—’’

The man’s shield slipped from his hands.

Then he collapsed backwards.

’’RAISE YOUR SHIELDS!’’

’’CLOSE THE GAP!’’

But it was already too late.

Using the opening in their formation, the Whitemane soldiers broke through.

’’ARGH!’’

’’HEL—’’

Deres soldiers met their ends one after another.

Some had their throats pierced, others were pushed off the wall.

Roderic didn’t even look at them anymore, though.

His gaze had long shifted onto another group.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The remaining daggers rapidly left his hands.

Not all of them killed an enemy, but it was enough to put their soldiers in a favorable position.

As Roderic crouched down to pick up the short swords, his gaze flickered to Benjamin and Roland.

Both were staring at him with wide eyes.

’’Want to join me?’’ he asked, smiling.

The two immediately shook their heads.

’’Young master... we don’t know how to throw...’’ Sir Roland spoke hesitantly. ’’We-we’d just be in the way.’’

Roderic wasn’t surprised.

Throwing weapons was usually something only mercenaries and assassins learned.

’’Would you mind getting me some more weapons then?’’ he asked, bundling the short swords under his arm. ’’I’m afraid I’ll run out soon.’’

Benjamin immediately nodded.

’’Of course,’’ he said. ’’I’ll go right now!’’

Turning his attention back to the battlefield, Roderic’s gaze briefly halted.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The siege towers had gotten a lot closer to the walls, while the battering rams were lined up neatly now.

Roderic’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’We don’t have much time left,’ he thought. ’I need to create space for as many archers as possible.’

After all, those machines were the real danger.

As many of them as possible needed to be stopped before they reached the walls.

His eyes instantly locked onto another group of Deres soldiers past one of the groups he’d just helped.

WHOOSH!

A short sword left his hand.

It flew just over the heads of Whitemane soldiers.

CLANG!

Its handle slammed into a Deres soldier’s head.

’’Ugh!’’

His head snapped to the side as confusion filled his eyes.

Not even a second later, a spear pierced through his mouth.

THUD!

Roderic raised an eyebrow.

’That’s some crazy timing,’ he thought, nearly chuckling to himself.

Picking up another short sword, he grabbed it by the blade this time.

WHOOSH!

PUCHI!

A moment later, a Deres soldier collapsed, the short sword buried deep in the side of his skull.

Roderic nodded slowly, already reaching for another.

Minutes slowly ticked by as the battle continued.

With Roderic occasionally disrupting the enemy formations, the Whitemane soldiers gradually managed to regain control of several sections of the wall.

However, the Deres army continued sending more soldiers up the ladders.

And all the while, the siege machines kept approaching.

After twenty minutes, it finally happened.

Arthur suddenly raised his sword high into the sky.

’’LIGHT YOUR ARROWS!’’ he commanded loudly.

The hundred archers immediately lowered the tips of their incendiary arrows into the nearby fire pits.

SHHHH!

One after another, small flames appeared along the walls.

’’DRAW!’’

A hundred flaming arrows were raised toward the sky.

The archers pulled back their bowstrings as far as they could, aiming toward the approaching siege towers.

For a brief moment, everything seemed to slow down.

Then Arthur swung his sword down.

’’FIREEE!’’

THWANG! THWANG! THWANG!

A hundred burning arrows shot into the sky.

Their flames lit up the sky, painting it with beautiful streaks of orange and red.

Even Roderic stopped throwing his weapons for a moment.

’Beautiful...’ he thought, feeling a shiver roll down his spine.

A wide, vicious smile appeared on his face.

’Truly beautiful...’