Duke Pendragon

Chapter 358

The scariest thing on a battlefield was the fire demon. Since ancient times, fire was the most useful and fearful means of attack on the battlefield. And now, Fort Bellint was facing a situation where the demon was about to make his appearance.

As the enemy griffons dropped large crates containing oil, large, black puddles were created all over the structure. As soon as the puddles formed, the soldiers of Fort Bellint started moving in perfect order even before the orders came down from their commanders.

“Sand! Hurry up!”

The soldiers hastily heaved sand and soil and covered the puddles of oil. They had been prepared for such an attack.

Soon, the enemy griffon riders lobbed torches and fired flaming arrows.

Fwoosh!

Some puddles had not yet been covered with sand. In an instant, flames soared and expelled black smoke. However, there were only a few places where fire broke out, and they were quickly snuffed out by the soldiers’ quick response.

“They might come once again! Prepare the ballista! Archers! Fire without rest!”

Soldiers carried out Sir Jade’s orders, waving their flags and beating the drums. As the flags fluttered dizzily to the sound of the drums, medium-sized ballista were repositioned to the embrasures of the castle wall, and the archers of Fort Bellint fired their arrows without stopping.

Shiiiing! Thuck!

“Keuk!”

“Argh!”

The army of the Great Territory of Alice was drawing closer.

Several soldiers fell to the arrows fired by the soldiers of Alice, but the archers of the Pendragon Duchy continued to return shots without fear. 

 But the distant exchange lasted for only a short moment.

“Uwaaaahhhh!”

The soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice were already nearing the vicinity of Bellint’s moat (a pit filled with water around the wall).

“Fire the crossbows!”

Unlike longbows, crossbows could be fired from behind a cover. In addition, For Bellint had been supplied with crossbows since last year. Many soldiers were equipped with crossbows, and perfectly concealed arrowslits had been implemented at the base of the walls.

Tutututung!

Around a hundred quarrels were fired from the slits. Although their range was short, they possessed incredible power.

“Uaagh!”

“Keugh!”

The quarrels easily pierced through the light plate armor of Alice’s soldiers, and soldiers screamed and collapsed while attempting to lay a long ladder to cross the moat.

Kiyaaaahk!

Soon, the griffons of Alice flew down from the sky and covered them.

Kwaaaah!

Despite the creatures’ powerful flapping, archers of the Pendragon Duchy reloaded their quarrels at a high tempo and fired accurate shots.

Pupuput! Kyaaahk!

Unfortunately, such attacks only served to anger the griffons. They were much large and possessed thicker muscles than regular beasts, which made it hard for the quarrels to do much damage.

Kwaaaah! Boom!

When dozens of griffons from Alice rushed to the wall where the arrowslits were located, a portion of the structure collapsed in an instant.

“Throw the oil jars!”

The griffons were thrashing around and pecking with their sharp beaks. The soldiers threw oil-filled jars at the creatures, then fired flaming arrows.

Fwoosh!

Kyaahhhhhhk!

Several griffons screeched after having their wings lit on fire, thrashing around in panic. Some of the griffons could not stand the heat and dove towards the moat, causing dozens of soldiers on the ladder to be swept away and carried along.

“Kugh!”

“S, save me!”

Although thin, the soldiers were equipped with metal plates on their upper bodies. They quickly sank into the water while flailing to no avail. The moat was thrown into chaos as griffons dove to extinguish the fire on their bodies and soldiers attempted to cross the moat in the rain.

Kyaaaahk!

Another fierce battle was taking place in the skies.

The griffons of the Pendragon Duchy chased and were chased by the griffons of the Great Territory of Alice. The Pendragon griffons were outnumbered greatly. They only had around twenty griffons while the enemy had about forty.

Kiyaaak! Kiyaaahk! 

The Pendragon griffons were relatively larger and were covered in metal armor. Each one was facing against two or three griffons from the Great Territory of Alice. The Pendragon griffons were equipped with a metal beak protector the size of a human palm, and their attacks were fierce and powerful.

Blood splattered and flesh was torn every time they attacked with their beaks. However, the griffons of the Great Territory of Alice were overwhelming the Pendragon griffons with sheer numbers. 

A portion of Alice’s griffons had departed to drop crates of oil on the fortress at the beginning of the battle. As they returned and joined the fray, the battle began to shift greatly in favor of the Great Territory of Alice.

“Keugh!”

“Maintain formation!”

Even in the desperate situation, the five griffon riders of Pendragons kept their composure and fought with all their might, swinging their long spears and firing their crossbows.

Kyaaaaah…!

However, as time went by, griffons of the Pendragon Duchy continued plummeting to the ground, and the situation became increasingly disadvantageous.

On the other hand, the situation on the ground was a bit better. They were enduring somehow.

“Kuagh!”

“Die!”

The army of the Great Territory of Alice had difficulty approaching the wall, due to the struggles of the Pendragon Duchy’s soldiers. Although they were allowed a few hours of rest, the fatigue accumulated from the march was still unresolved. Compared to the soldiers of Fort Bellint, who were well-rested, the soldiers of the Great Territory of Alice were in a disadvantageous position.

In addition, a siege was much more difficult for the attackers than the defenders. Even though the army of Alice outnumbered their enemies by several times, not everyone could simultaneously stick to the walls.

Eventually, the bodies of Alice’s soldiers began piling up under the moat as time passed.

“Forward! Forward!”

“Uagh!”

A soldier regurgitated while running towards the moat. His group had been called to charge, but the scene laid out in front of him was reminiscent of a living hell. Bodies were being burnt, spears and swords were sticking out, and soldiers’ limbs were bent in bizarre ways…

Cold, dead bodies were strewn about the burning moat, forming small mounds of horror.

“Save me… Please…”

“U…Uaaghh!”

Dying soldiers begged and screamed on the ground while hopelessly holding back their intestines from spilling out. The charging soldiers tried their best to ignore their fallen comrades and charged towards the wall, engulfed in fear and madness.

Soldiers were already crazily climbing the dozens of ladders.

“Argggh!”

Bodies continued falling from above, but it was unknown whether they were allies or enemies.

Thud!

The terrible noise was similar to a watermelon cracking open. However, it was quickly buried in the sound of blades clashing and shouts.

“Stop them!”

The defenders of Fort Bellint fought bravely and fiercely. They faithfully implemented the basic tactics of defending, blocking the climbing enemies with their shields while stabbing down with their spears.

Unfortunately, there were just too many enemies. Pendragon’s soldiers killed and killed again, but the enemy flocked endlessly. In addition, they could no longer use their longbows while defending, but arrows continued to rain down from the enemy camp where numerous troops were waiting.

Pupupupuk!

“Keugh!”

“Argh!”

The archers were mostly mercenaries with plenty of experience, and their shots were quite accurate. More than a hundred soldiers had already fallen by their arrows. If they were only dealing with arrows, they could endure, but it was quite difficult to face both the enemies climbing up through the ladders as well as the falling arrows.

In addition, the ladders were placed at an angle, which made it difficult to push them away. The ladders were tens of feet high and reinforced with support, and dozens of enemies were climbing up at any given moment.

“Stop them! Stop them no matter what!”

A knight screamed while swinging his sword, his armor dyed red with blood.

“Kuaaaagh!”

“Die!”

With swords, and with shields… the defenders of Fort Bellint desperately stabbed and pushed the enemies away.

“Hut!”

At that moment, the restless eyes of the soldiers grew significantly. The enemies were swarming the outside of the walls like ants, and huge towers suddenly appeared from the far side of the enemy’s camp.

“S, siege towers!”

The newly erected structures were siege towers. Their parts had been brought by Alice’s army in advance and had finally been assembled.

Krrrrrrrr!

The army of the Great Territory of Alice split to the sides, and six siege towers began approaching the wall.

“Fire the ballista!”

Sir Jade shouted, feeling restless for the first time. Dozens of sharpened logs the size of humans discharged from the embrasures.

Boooom!

The siege towers shook greatly after being struck. However, only one collapsed, and the rest continued to move forward after slightly tilting. 

“Fire! Keep shooting! Anything, anything at all!”

However, even flaming arrows were of no use. Even with flames erupting all over their giant bodies, the siege towers were like demons as they charged.

Kiriririririk! Boom!

After arriving in front of the moat, the front of the siege towers opened, and wide, long wooden bridges came falling down to the walls.

“Uwaahhhhh!”

Heavily armed soldiers and mercenaries began rushing out like water from the five siege towers.

Chagn! Chaechang!

The fortress wall was quickly thrown into chaos. Soldiers who were holding back the enemies coming from the ladders rushed to defend, but they were insufficient to handle the hundreds of enemies pouring out from the five siege towers.

“Keugh!”

Sir Jade and the knights also participated in the battle. If they aroused their spirits in a battle like this, they would quickly deplete their stamina. As such, they dealt with the enemy with using only their sword techniques.

“Kuaaaaagh!”

“Argh!”

The screams of humans rushing to their deaths never ceased. In less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, the walls were transformed into a terrible environment. Guts, amputated bodies, and corpses were visible no matter where one turned their gaze towards.

“Sir Jade! T, the griffons!”

Sir Jade turned his eyes at someone’s cry. He had just cut off the head of an enemy soldier. The griffons of the Great Territory of Alice finished off the last Pendragon griffon, and were now flying towards the walls with their sharp talons and large beaks.

‘Is this the end…? No, it can’t be!’

Sir Jade denied the crushing despair, then tightened his grip on the hand holding the sword, arousing his spirit.

Fwoooosh!

“For Pendragon! For our lord!”

His spirit-filled shout cut through the surroundings, which were filled with all sorts of noise.

“For Pendragon!”

“Long live His Excellency the Duke!”

The warriors of Pendragon guarding Bellint shouted loudly and swung their weapons.

It was then.

Tututututututu!!!

A distant tremor could be felt. Although it originated from the far side of the enemy camp, it could be felt even on the chaotic walls.

- Neiiigh!!!

- Kuwaaaaaghhhh!

In addition, a terrifying roar resonated its way through the battlefield to Fort Bellint. Just hearing it made one shudder in fear.

“C, centaurs!”

“Our friends from Ancona are here!”

The soldiers of Fort Belint had been on the defensive, but they shouted with joy after noticing the changes. Naturally, relief and joy for them doubled as a disaster for their enemy, the army of the Great Territory of Alice.

Pupupupupupuk!

The centaurs and Ancona Orc warriors tore apart the backside of the enemy camp like a storm. Some of their comrades fell after being stabbed by spears and swords, but the orc warriors and the centaurs did not care.

They were literally a bloody, frenzied storm.

- Kuwuuuughhh! Kuwuugh!

Kwaaaaaaah!

The formation of the army of Alice collapsed instantly. The orcs left behind a tsunami of Orc Fear as they forcefully dug through the enemy camp, and the centaurs were right by their sides. They were akin to the devil breaking through hellfire.

“Stop them! Stop them! What are the griffons doing!?”

Baron Stones howled. A portion of the griffons attacking Fort Bellint turned around and flapped towards the centaurs and the orc warriors.

“Come, you damned birdheads! Kuwuuugh!”

Orcs were a race that became fiercer and mentally stronger when battling against a strong opponent. It had been a long time since they were against large monsters rather than humans, so the Ancona Orc warriors aroused their madness to the max, kicking off their feet and flying forward.

A group of charging griffons and orc warriors wielding steel rods and combat axes collided in the air at a terrifying speed.

Boooooooom!

A loud explosion resounded as the two groups slammed into each other, and individuals were scattered in all directions and smashed into the ground at incredible speeds.