Happy 4th of July!!
_______________________________________________________________________
“…!”
There was a short gasp from the allied soldiers as they discovered the approaching army.
The king’s army was currently all gathered within the royal castle for defense, as it was more advantageous and efficient to do so than fighting head-on in hand-to-hand combat.
So, are these the king’s new reinforcements? Or not?
The soldiers were wary of the approaching army carrying spears and swords. They waited for Ash’s instructions.
Ash narrowed his eyes.
Using mana to enhance his vision, he could see several flags flying high in the distance. They were all different colors. The flag flying at the forefront of them all bore the symbol of…
As soon as he recognized it, someone from the front of the army rode quickly toward them on horseback, alone.
His long cloak flapped in the wind, and when he was close enough to be seen clearly, even Elaine recognized his face.
‘That’s…!’
Elaine’s eyes widened. At the same time, the man who’d stopped in front of their ranks bowed respectfully to Ash.
“You’re late, Your Grace.”
His hair was neatly combed, and his eyes were wrinkled but strong.
His appearance was unexpected, but the moment Ash saw his banner, he knew he couldn’t be an enemy soldier. Looking at the man, Ash spoke.
“Margrave Lakers.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me for something like this. Shouldn’t you give me a chance to return the favor?”
There was a faint smile in his hard eyes.
Behind the margrave, the men in the lead, under the banners of different families, approached on horseback. They bowed before Ash, like the margrave.
“We will assist as well.”
These were the heads of the houses that had remained neutral until now.
Just before the allied army marched towards the capital, reinforcements from neutral families, including Margrave Lakers, joined them in the hills near the capital.
Along with the truth about the Seveka incident revealed by Ash, the monster’s nest incident was added, increasing the credibility of the fact that the King was behind the disaster 20 years ago. With more people believing Ash’s story than the king’s claims of being framed, a new movement was born.
Neutral families that didn’t belong to either the king’s army or the allied army.
Among them, there were those who’d lost relatives during the Seveka incident, and there were also those who’d been driven by pure anger, or by the cause of the allies.
The fact that these neutral families were able to come together on such short notice was due in part to the influence of the Lakers Margrave, who actively led them.
Ash accepted the reinforcements. Their arrival was unexpected, but he had no reason to refuse.
“I will remember your help.”
He made eye contact with the leaders of the volunteer army one by one and spoke sincerely.
As a result of their assistance, the gap in strength between the King’s army, which had originally been twice as large, and the allied army was greatly narrowed.
Naturally, the morale of the soldiers also increased.
Standing in front of his army on the hillside, Ash looked around at his new allies and those who’d followed him from Killiard.
He saw the castle not far away.
A beautiful castle, high and lofty on a vast plain that stretched beyond the rolling hills.
He drew his sword.
As everyone waited for his command, he pointed the sharp blade at the castle.
The tip of the sword, with purple mana shining like a flame, pointed sharply at the enemy to be slain.
He commanded.
“All armies, march.”
At the same time, a trumpet sounded loudly.
Waaaah!
A battle cry shook the sky like thunder.
The army began their final march toward the battlefield.
* * *
With a loud shout, the army charged across the plains and toward the royal castle.
Enemy soldiers were already lined up on the castle wall, ready for battle. As the army with spears and swords approached the walls, the commander of the enemy camp shouted.
“Traitors! Attack!”
Countless arrows rained down from the walls.
The soldiers raised their shields in unison to block the arrows. Driving his horse through them, Ash shouted orders.
“First, destroy the shield on the walls. The first and second battalions will take the lead and attack the shields at the gates.”
The huge castle walls were covered with a translucent blue membrane. In order to break through the castle gate, that shield had to be destroyed first.
As per Ash’s command, the trumpeter blew the signal. The soldiers who heard the signal moved their lines according to the command.
Elaine rode at the head of the line with the Philres knights. As they galloped on their horses, the knights directed their sword energy toward the shield.
Elaine’s white sword energy, along with the other knights’, scattered light and struck the translucent shield.
Boom!
With an explosive sound, a strong gust of wind rose.
The baptism of sword energy from the Philres knights was powerful enough to wipe out countless demons. It was the same power that’d held back the horde of demons that attacked Killiard.
Yet the shield remained intact under such an attack. It hadn’t shattered, hadn’t even faltered.
It wasn’t because they lacked power.
The royal castle was where the father of the country resided. It was meant to be strong and had the most powerful defensive shield on the continent.
Even Killiard’s defenses had withstood the hordes of monsters that’d poured out of the nest for hours.
The Royal Castle’s magic, which was designed and built by many magicians with the highest level of skill, was stronger than that, and therefore could not be breached so easily.
This was the reason why the royal army chose to battle at the castle.
“Don’t stop, keep shooting! Punish the insolent traitors!”
As the attack of the Knights of Philres, their main force, was blocked, the enemy’s momentum increased. The commander shouted with great vigor.
Soon, a rain of arrows and sharp spears of ice came flying down.
The royal wizards launched an attack from the castle walls.
Magic crashed down upon the soldiers. The knights swung their mana-covered swords to block the incoming attacks, yet some soldiers fell.
“Kaaak!”
Elaine swung her sword and glared at the top of the castle wall.
‘It’s not good to waste time.’
Even if the shield was strong, the allies had to attack the walls at the risk of attack. On the other hand, the King’s army only had to occupy the high ground within the safe shield and pour in attacks.
The longer the battle went on, the more disadvantaged they were.
If the shield remained unbroken and the battle dragged on, the allies would be outnumbered and eventually worn out, then their enemies would open the gates and push through.
‘I can’t just wipe them out in one fell swoop…’
If she used the witch’s flame, it wouldn’t be a problem to demolish a castle like this.
But that wasn’t the way this needed to be done.
This fight was only meaningful if it was won solely by the strength of the allies. Not by someone handing them the victory, but by righteous men raising their swords together to right wrongs.
Then no one would be able to deny their victory.
It was then.
The royal wizards cast more powerful high-level magic.
The ice spears expanded to several times their original size, as if numerous ice pieces had been put together. In addition, the size of the burning balls of flame and the dazzling lightning bolts were greatly expanded.
“Incoming!”
Marquis Derk shouted to his soldiers the moment he saw it.
A direct hit from those would do great damage. At his urgent shout, the soldiers tried to break the line, but the magic was faster.
Fiercely blazing fireballs and gigantic flashes of lightning like the spears of a thunder god rained down, along with various other high-level magic.
Allied wizards quickly deployed shields.
However, unlike the king’s army, the allied army had a small number of wizards.
According to national law, the number of wizards that nobles other than the royal family could enlist was limited. This was to prevent nobles from strengthening their private armies and to protect the royal authority.
And unlike the shields that were carved into the immovable castle walls, there were limits to how far an individual could deploy their shield.
It would take a large group of wizards working in unison to stop this onslaught, and they didn’t have that kind of force.
The wizards gritted their teeth and spread their shields, but it wasn’t enough. Lightning struck, threatening to incinerate the soldiers in an instant.
In the next moment, a translucent curtain unfolded in the air, like a huge carpet.
It was a defensive shield large enough to cover all allies within the attack range.
All the powerful magic that poured down was blocked by the defense shield. A deafening roar assaulted their ears.
“How……! How……!”
The kingdom’s wizards panicked. This attack shouldn’t have been easily stopped by the allied wizards.
At that time, someone standing among the soldiers caught their eye.
A person wearing dark robes was quietly spreading his hands into the air. The magic circles floating above his hand could be seen flickering and glowing.
Could it be that wizard?
“Who is that…”
Single-handedly unleashing a shield of that magnitude, a shield that could withstand the higher-level magic deployed by the royal wizards.
The royal wizards didn’t receive any information that there was a wizard of that caliber in the allied forces.
In fact, it was the same for the allies as well.
The allies were briefly shaken by the presence of a wizard they didn’t even know existed.
As attention focused on him, the wizard pulled his robe tighter.
‘So, it’s Espel.’
Elaine nodded.
It was truly an incredible ability. She knew Espel would be a great help, but he’d really saved them from suffering a lot of damage.
Now there was a sturdy shield on this side as well.
Elaine adjusted her sword and held tight. Ash ordered an attack by pointing straight ahead with the tip of his sword.
“Everyone, focus on attacking the castle gate!”
The soldiers shouted in unison and began to attack the shields at the gate.
Did she mention it was solid?
Yes, the wall in front of them was certainly like an iron fortress.
But it would only take one blow to shatter it.
At the head of the Knights of Philres, Hilaire and Lowell swung their swords wildly, shooting out blazing bolts of sword energy, followed by the Knights of Philres, who poured down a barrage of sword energy.
Seasoned knights from each family and the elite knights of the Lakers, who protect the North, went on the offensive.
Wizards and soldiers covered them.
Attacks rained down continuously from the castle walls but were blocked by Espel’s shield.
An all-out offensive attack followed.
Along with the soldiers and the attack, Ash and Elaine’s sword energy, which had tremendous destructive power, struck the shield.
At some point, the shield shook.
Ash spurred his horse, channeling his mana into his blade, much stronger than before. The purple sword energy amplified, long and wide, as if it were exploding.
It struck the blue shield.
Kwaaang-!
And in that moment, the seemingly unbreakable Iron defense finally cracked.