370

Episode 370 Can Everyone Hold On? (3)

Howard, the commander-in-chief of the army camped outside the castle, smiled as he watched the gates close.

"You idiots, you finally got caught."

To make his opponent let his guard down, he deliberately left it untouched when Earl Fenris struck other places. He left it alone without threatening it so that it would not escape.

All he did was gather his army and wait for Earl Fenris to come here.

As planned by the Marquis' men, those guys came here without fear and took over the castle.

"By the way, that's impressive. I heard there were only about 400 people, but they managed to take over a castle guarded by 3,000 people."

I had thought that maybe Daker-kun could stop them. However, it was impossible for Daker-kun, who didn't even have a knight, to stop them.

For a group of idiots, their military power was amazing. If we were to join them without caution, it would have been dangerous even with 10,000 soldiers.

Of course, among the 10,000 people, there are many knights as well as soldiers, so they won't be defeated as easily as the Decker Army.

But Earl Fenris's inaction was a problem.

"It certainly seems true that the rumors of someone being close to becoming a master are true. They are at the level of a top-level knight."

If you're not careful, even if you capture the Count, you could suffer damage close to total annihilation. That's not what Howard wanted.

It would be a great embarrassment for a commander to suffer great losses from a force of 10,000 men, but only 400 of them.

However great Earl Fenris was, it was no excuse. He was still not famous enough to be recognized as a superman in the kingdom.

"I tried starving them for about a week, but that's not enough. Keep them under siege for at least a month."

He was a fairly cautious commander. He decided to buy more time in order to win with minimal casualties.

Even a human who is close to being a master will inevitably lose some strength if he or she starves for a month.

However, when he becomes a master, he will still be able to display great power, but his subordinates who have not yet reached that level will definitely be too weak to fight.

After some more thought, Howard gave a new order.

"Command more catapults from the surrounding territories."

There were already catapults, but more couldn't hurt. If there was a need to drag out Earl Fenris and his party, I planned to give them a good beating.

Or you could concentrate your attacks as they emerge from the castle.

He did his best to catch the weakened beast. He could certainly be called a commander recognized by the Marquis.

For a while after that, the two sides continued in a standoff without fighting a single battle.

A week passed, then two weeks, then three weeks, and Howard smiled.

"There's still no response. They must be scared. They must be trying to search the castle somehow to secure food."

The enemy didn't even try to run away. They knew that if they came out anyway, all the surrounding soldiers would rush in.

The surrounding area was also being guarded tightly in case anyone tried to sneak out.

"The Earl of Fenris may escape alone. Keep a close watch over the surrounding area and make sure all soldiers are familiar with his face."

Howard was very meticulous in maintaining the siege and keeping the soldiers on edge.

After a month, Howard finally let out a laugh as he looked at the still silent castle.

"You idiots, if you were going to fight, you should have come out on the first day. You must be catching rats by now."

Judging by the lack of response, it was clear that they had all collapsed while searching for food.

No matter how strong Earl Fenris was, it was obvious that he would not dare to come out alone.

Howard, sensing that the time had come, gave the order for his entire army to attack.

The catapults moved and the soldiers formed up in formation.

"Here lies Earl Fenris, the divine and high lord of the North, who has fallen in vain."

Howard smiled pleasantly. Through this battle, his fame would spread far and wide throughout the kingdom.

The Earl of Fenris may have been famous in the North, but that was about it. When he came to the West, which was incomparably more developed than the rural North, didn't he show his limitations?

They were just guys who knew how to fight ignorantly, so there was no way they could figure out such a sophisticated strategy.

"All troops, now attack the castle… … . Hmm?"

Howard looked back. A new force, waving the flag of Marquis Rodrik, was approaching from afar.

He paused for a moment, stopping his orders. Soon a knight came running up to him, bowing his head and saying:

"I have come to provide support under Tennant's orders."

"Support? How many people?"

"It's 10,000."

Indeed, even if you just glance at them, they seem to be just as numerous as the troops here. Howard asked why they had suddenly sent support.

"These guys have already been starving for a month in the castle. We only have 400 troops, isn't this too much?"

"We have new information."

"New information?"

The knight looked at Howard with a nervous expression and said.

"It is said that before Earl Fenris came here, he single-handedly killed the Crimson Tower Master, a 7th circle wizard."

At those words, Howard's expression hardened.

You killed the 7th Circle wizard, the only one in the kingdom who is called a superhuman?

Reaching the master level and being a true master are two entirely different things.

If Delmud, the 7th Circle Wizard, and his disciples were in that castle, I wouldn't have dared to attack them with just 10,000.

The fame of a superhuman is that great.

Howard, suddenly struck by an idea, quickly looked at the castle.

"Why didn't you show up on the first day?"

If they had come out and fought, they might have lost. They predicted that the enemy force would have more than 50 knights.

It was judged that the remaining soldiers would also be of elite level.

If they kill just 10 soldiers each, they can deal with 4,000 people. And if Earl Fenris is truly a master, he could kill several thousand soldiers by himself.

'It would have been best to fight like that before starving… … .'

I just couldn't figure out why he didn't show up on the first day.

The knight who brought the new army asked Howard, who was lost in thought.

"It's a good thing you came before the attack started. If you attack now, I will order you to prepare for battle immediately."

Howard thought for a moment, then glared at the castle and said.

"If you really have the skills to defeat a 7th circle wizard on your own, you still aren't good enough. I'll starve you for a few more days."

Since they had already starved for a month, 400 people were just a bonus, so it was a fight between one person and 20,000 people. Even if the opponent was a master, I didn't think they would lose with this number of people.

But the extent of the damage was another story. If we were unlucky, up to half of the 20,000 people could have died.

Being prudent, he decided to starve the rats he had locked up in the castle even further.

* * *

"Hey, they're definitely not stupid."

Jiselle, who was looking outside the castle, clicked her tongue at the sight of the Marquis' army that had grown twice as large.

In the meantime, he sent 10,000 more troops. As expected, the strongest lord in the West is different.

The Count of Desmond gathered all the troops of his vassals and made 30,000. That was a huge number, but in this town, the number just kept increasing by 10,000.

Certainly, unlike the barren North, there is plenty of money and a large population, so it is easy to recruit troops.

It was not for nothing that the rumor spread that Marquis Rodrik's power was on a par with that of other kingdoms.

Gillian said with a slightly stiff expression.

"It seems like it would be difficult to win safely with 20,000."

This was also said in the most roundabout way possible. I thought that since there was a Jisel who had reached Master with 10,000, it would be possible no matter how difficult it was.

But if there were 20,000, it would be a different story. Even if they won, there was a high possibility that Jiselle would be the only one to survive. Maybe they would get tired first and be wiped out.

I don't know if it would be possible to not lose any strength or stamina while fighting, but for a human, that would be impossible.

Jiselle also nodded.

"Yes, they are also human, so they will continue to use their heads to win. Judging by the increase in the number of troops, it seems they have heard about that."

"What kind of story are you talking about?"

"The information that I killed Delmud. They probably sent more troops in a hurry as soon as they heard. That's why they could have arrived now."

"I see. You probably felt that 10,000 wasn't enough."

Gillian saw Giselle fight Delmud with her own eyes.

Now he's gotten so much stronger than when I first saw him. I couldn't believe how someone could get so strong so quickly.

Giselle has certainly risen to the ranks of what are called superhumans. And in this kingdom, there are only four people who have reached that level, including Giselle.

So, Marquis Rodrik will probably want to catch and kill Giselle in this battle.

"They may be gathering more troops. We must strike before they gather more."

"Yes, if we have 10,000 more, they will definitely win. But there is no benefit to going out now either. 20,000 is not a number that can be taken lightly."

"What are you going to do?"

Giselle chuckled at Gillian's worried question.

"We should call our allies too."

"Friends… … right?"

Gillian tilted his head. From the beginning, Giselle had brought only knights with her, intending to pillage, and was just poking around here and there.

Of course, there is no supply route. It is already too late to come to the north for support.

Jiselle answered in a nonchalant tone.

"Our mercenaries are waiting nearby, right?"

"ah!"

Mercenaries had gathered and were moving the goods of the surrounding territories. There was no army to stop them at the moment.

Dominic, who had been active in the East, was also back in the West leading the Drake mercenary group.

Because they knew the area best.

And many of the mercenaries recruited from the North and East had come to the West following the Drake mercenary band.

"There must have been more people by now. There will be more goods to move as time goes on, so I asked those who have finished their assignments to continue joining. I think… … at least 3,000 to 4,000 people have come?"

The Fenris Mercenary Corps currently boasts a force of nearly 10,000 members. This is the result of consistently recruiting mercenaries from each region.

When they first started plundering, only about 500 people moved, but as each territory they conquered increased, they requested more support.

If those mercenaries had come here, there would have been a good chance of victory. They could attack the rear of the Marquis' forces, or they could just take up a defensive position to disperse the enemy's forces.

But it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

"If they come, it will be a great help. But aren't they all scattered? If we want to get them here, we have to gather them in one place, and that's the problem."

The territories attacked this time were among the small ones even in the West, but it was not easy to take out an entire territory.

The mercenaries were divided into groups of hundreds and were busy moving goods. There was no way to contact them and have them come here as one.

The siege was tighter than I thought. If even one person leaves, that large army will not stay still.

Jiselle nodded with a smirk.

"Dominic will be here, so contact him and ask him to gather them. He's not too far away, so he'll be here soon."

"How on earth… … ."

Jiselle said nothing more and just stretched her hands into the air.

Slurp… … .

Suddenly, black smoke began to billow from the air and gather in one place.

Gillian and the knights who were watching took a step back in surprise.

The black smoke that had gathered together soon took the shape of a crow.

"Kekekeke… … Master, are you trying to borrow my strength after all?"

When the crow spoke, the onlookers opened their mouths wide.

I knew that Giselle could use magic, but I never imagined that she would create such a creature.

Even Gillian, who was usually reserved, was so surprised that she couldn't help but stutter.

"Yes, my lord! What is that?"

"Well, how should I explain it? I guess you can just think of it as one of the spirits I can use."

"Me, a spirit? Are you saying that your lord can use spirits too?"

"Uh… … It's just similar to magic."

It was a bit awkward to say that he was carrying something of unknown identity in his body. Arel had seen the whole process, but it must have been unbelievable to them.

I was planning to show it to you little by little and have you understand it step by step. So I just gave a vague explanation, but the crow raised its chin arrogantly and said,

"My name is Dark. You will be seeing me often from now on, so worship me whenever you see me."

Kaor tilted her head at those words.

"What the heck? This cocky guy like Clifford?"

Clopoy is a combination of Claude and Alpoy. It has become a derogatory term used in the territory to call an insolent person. The crow looked so insolent that Kaor blurted out the word without thinking.

Of course, Dark wasn't afraid of others at all after inhabiting Giselle's body.

"If you don't want to be cursed by me and have your soul destroyed, then stay quiet. Are you a Kaoru? I already knew you."

Since he lived in Jiselle's consciousness and even stole her memories, it was only natural that he would know everything. However, Kaor asked in surprise at the fact that she knew him.

"You know me? How?"

"Because you're famous."

"I'm famous?"

Kaor smiled with a secret sense of satisfaction. It feels good to be famous. Dark nodded in agreement and continued.

"Yeah, you're a famous idiot."

"This kid!"

Kaor tried to swing his sword, but was stopped by Giselle.

Dark chuckled.

"How is it? As an immortal being protected by my master… … Keeeeek!"

As Giselle clenched his palms, Dark screamed, twisting his whole body. It felt like an enormous pressure was pressing down on him.

"Master! I'm sorry!"

Dark immediately posted an apology for his reflection. He was so happy to be out after such a long time that he got angry.

Jiselle clicked her tongue and said.

"Now is not the time to be fooling around. Go tell Dominic to gather the mercenaries and come here immediately. Can you make it clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. But will he believe me? What a crazy crow! What could happen? No, he'll be surprised to hear a talking crow?"

"Tell me about the follower items you saw. I'll come running."

"Okay, then I'll be back shortly. Everyone, wait."

Although he was a small crow, he received enough mana from Giselle. Dark moved to deliver the news to Dominic, who was in the nearby territory.

And then, after about a week, Howard finally decided to attack.

"I think this will be enough."

An army of 20,000 men was tightly surrounding the castle. With so much starvation, there would be little force left for anyone but the Earl of Fenris.

They had eaten well and rested well. They were also much more numerous. Thanks to this, their morale was quite high.

"All troops, prepare."

When Howard raised his hand to signal attack.

Creak… … .

The gates began to open first.