Chapter 206 - Oren

I spotted three assault staircases and two leaping ramps among the units attacking our section, but this time, there was something different.

A unit of almost two hundred soldiers was marching in front. They were also dragging something with them. Upon closer observation, I realized that they were dragging baskets filled with spears.

“They are spear throwers!” I warned.

“Archers, take your positions! Cannoneers, ready the cannons!”

As they came within the archers’ range, Silas shouted, “NOCK!”

“DRAW!”

“LOOSE!”

While Silas led the archers, Peter led the cannoneers.

The arrows forced the spear throwers to halt their advance and defend themselves with their shields, while the ten cannons in my section each took down at least one soldier.

Regrettably, after the first volley, I stopped the cannon fire.

We had a limited number of cannonballs. If we used too many of them to take down the spear units, we would have none left to destroy the siege weapons.

“Kael, Varric, get your units ready. We have the advantage of height. Let’s see if their spear unit can defend itself against spears.”

Although our spear unit had the advantage of the terrain, I was still not too confident.

Frosthallow’s spear unit was well equipped, and its members looked like veterans, whereas my unit was made up of ordinary militia members who had been learning how to handle spears for less than two months.

Garran, Oren, and Brakk’s units stepped back while Kael and Varric’s units moved to the front.

Grabbing the spears created by Captain Petrae, they threw them at Frosthallow’s spear unit all at once while arrows were also launched at them.

Just as before, the enemy stopped their march, blocked the spears and arrows with their shields, and then resumed their advance.

“Again!” I ordered.

Once again, they did the same. They raised their shields to block the attack and then resumed moving forward.

I clenched my fist in frustration as every attack we sent at them was simply ignored.

Worse than that, I had been so focused on the spear unit that I almost missed the siege weapons slowly creeping toward us.

“Cannoneers focus on the siege weapons.”

As the cannons turned toward the siege weapons, the first column of Frosthallow’s spear unit came to a halt at almost the same time.

Then the second moved behind them, and slowly, a complete formation took shape.

Yet it was not a tight formation of the kind generally used to minimize the effects of spear and arrow attacks. Instead, it was a hybrid formation made up of smaller, tightly packed groups.

Each group had sixteen soldiers, four across and four deep.

There were twelve of these small formations in total, arranged into a larger formation consisting of three rows and four columns.

“Shields ready!” I ordered as the formation took shape and Varric and Kael’s units were replaced by Garran, Oren, and Brakk’s units.

Although the spear attacks from our side had stopped, the archers were still focused on the enemy. Between the firing and reloading of arrows, the soldiers in the large formation moved their left legs forward, turned their bodies sideways, and drew back their spears.

“Brace!”

The entire formation snapped forward as one. Even while the spears were in the air, I could feel the power behind them simply from the speed at which they were traveling. When the first volley of spears struck the parapet, I realized how great the difference was between a professional spear-throwing unit and my hastily assembled one. The impact created an explosion-like sound as stone struck stone. Some of the stone shattered into small fragments as the spears embedded themselves in the wall.

Seeing the impact, I hurriedly created thick mana shields around the barrel openings of the cannons to protect them. Upon the first impact, my mana shield cracked, but thankfully, it slowed the spear’s momentum enough to stop it. Even when some of the mana shields farther away from me broke, the spears did not cause any major damage to the cannons.

But the same could not be said for the shield wall that took the impact. Most of the luckier soldiers were merely pushed back by the force. Some fell, losing their balance when spears struck the lower parts of their shields, while two unlucky soldiers had their shield-bearing arms pierced by spears.

Yet the most surprising part was that one of the spears pushed Garran back. Given Garran’s strength and skill, I knew that the person who had thrown the spear was one of the Tier-3 specialists Senior Lieutenant Torquatus had mentioned.

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Garran let out an angry roar and, with surprising fluidity for a man his size, picked up a spear from the bucket Kael and Varric’s units had been using and threw it. Then he took up his position once again, bracing his shield against the parapet.

Regrettably, Garran’s spear did not even reach its target.

I let out a sigh. “Varric, Garran, Rokan, Daren, Kael—use your core bombs.”

“Oren, Brakk, hold the line.”

Lady Flavia and her team had provided me with more core bombs and rune bombs, but I had been holding them back to preserve the element of surprise. After seeing the spear unit’s first volley, however, continuing to hold them back would have been foolish.

Varric and the others threw their bombs, each targeting a specific small formation, and then I understood why the enemy was using this particular formation. As soon as they saw the bombs flying toward them, they dispersed, creating gaps even within the small formations. It was clearly a tactic designed to reduce the damage the bombs could cause.

As they moved, I shouted, “Archers!”

At the same time, I grabbed a spear and threw it with all my strength, nailing one of the Frosthallow soldiers to the ground.

This time, even the arrows did some damage.

While they had prepared a counter for the bombs, their fear of the bombs caused them to fumble their repositioning, giving the archers and me an opportunity to hit our targets.

Even when the soldiers closest to the bombs used their shields to limit the spread of shrapnel, the bombs were chaotic by nature. They still injured the soldiers nearby or rendered their shields completely useless.

After the bombs detonated, they quickly reorganized. The injured and dead were dragged back, and the rest formed the hybrid formation again before sending another volley of spears at us.

This time, the spears looked different.

Moreover, they did not target the cannons. Their focus was mainly on the central section of the wall, where most of my squad was positioned.

Taking no chances, I created multiple mana shields, filled the gaps between them, and reinforced them with more mana.

Thankfully, I did.

Upon impact, the spears shattered almost as if they were made of volcanic glass. But there was also a small amount of fire mana mixed into them, causing the shards to ignite and creating a screen of fire against my shields.

If my thin layer of mana had not been present, those shards would have ignited the clothes of the soldiers behind the shield wall. Worse, if the shards had entered their bodies, they would have caused internal burns and mana injuries.

After that, we threw another volley of bombs.

Once again, they dispersed, creating gaps among themselves, and once more, we tried to take advantage of that.

This time, even Kael and Varric’s units joined in, throwing spears at them. But Frosthallow’s soldiers were also more organized. While only two soldiers used their shields to block the bombs, the rest focused on the spears and arrows coming toward them.

More surprisingly, instead of attacking us again, they made an orderly retreat, giving way to the siege weapons.

Three assault staircases and two leaping ramps.

I was surprised that, out of the five siege weapons, only two had been stopped during the entire attack, and both of them were leaping ramps.

At first, I thought Peter had failed to do his job, only to notice that the assault staircases had sustained damage.

All three of them had their far-left wheels destroyed, which would have been enough to stop them before. But now, it looked as though Frosthallow had added multiple wheels to each structure so that even if one wheel was damaged, it could keep moving.

Moreover, Peter had done something smart.

On one of the leading assault staircases, he had used a cannon to create a large hole in the wooden wall facing us, and I knew exactly what he intended to do with it.

“Varric, Kael, target that hole. Throw oil into it.”

They followed my order and grabbed small oil flasks from the back before throwing them at the hole. One missed and struck the wall. Another broke against the edge of the hole, spilling some of the oil inside and some outside.

Then I threw a rune bomb at the hole.

After Barry and Silas, I had the best aim. After all, to make my mana arcs effective, I needed almost perfect accuracy.

The rune bomb struck the hole and caused a fiery explosion. Once the fire mixed with the oil, it spread even farther, destroying the staircase’s central steps.

But that was it.

In that time, the other two assault staircases had already positioned themselves in front of the wall, attacking the right and left portions of the shield wall.

I was about to control the battle from the center, but then I sensed four Tier-3 mana signatures rapidly climbing the stairs and targeting the right portion of the wall.

Without wasting any time, Kael, Varric, and I moved toward the right.

With a single strike of his hammer, the Frosthallow soldier broke through the shield wall, sending one soldier flying through the air.

Their size showed exactly why they were called barbarians.

All four of them were as tall as Garran, and one might have been even taller. Each of them wore full-plate armor.

Before the Frosthallow soldier could strike the adjacent soldier, Varric parried his attack with his own hammer.

“Move!” I shouted, commanding the soldiers in the shield wall to duck down and clear our path.

Surprisingly, the Tier-3s from Frosthallow stopped attacking and allowed my soldiers to move.

After noticing the glint in their eyes, I understood why.

To them, I was prey that had willingly walked into their claws.

While Kael engaged another of the Tier-3s, I covered my armor with mana, then used a sudden burst of acceleration to close the gap between the smiling Frosthallow soldier and me.

My sudden speed surprised him.

Without wasting any time, I plunged my spear into his neck.

Then, in one fluid motion, I pulled my spear free and parried an incoming attack from the soldier standing beside him.

Yet when my spear met his hammer, a tremendous force was transferred into my weapon, bending it backward and causing me to lose my balance.

Taking advantage of that, he kicked toward my chest.

To avoid the kick, I bent backward and swept my spear toward the joint in the armor near the knee of his other leg. As soon as my spear struck, he staggered backward.

Without giving him any chance to recover, I created a large mana arc aimed at his hammer-wielding wrist.

He moved his hand out of the mana arc’s path.

I followed closely behind it with my spear, piercing his hand and disarming him.

Now that he had lost his weapon, I knew that victory was mine.

I sent two mana arcs at him. One struck his armor, while the other struck the joint at his shoulder.

After being disarmed and suffering injuries to his hand, shoulder, and knee, he became an easy target for me.

Just as I was about to finish him, I sensed an arrow heading toward me.

Instantly, I created a thick mana shield to guard my back.

I turned, only to receive one of the greatest shocks of my life.

A Frosthallow archer stood on the tower to the left.

And Oren lay dead in Brakk’s arms, an arrow protruding from his neck.

Before I could process anything, [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] flared from behind me.

Without looking back, I drove my spear into the neck of the barbarian I was fighting.