Chapter 44: Sieging a Fortress

I glanced up at the sky as dawn approached, noting the orange lights that were slowly creeping out from beneath the horizon. The designated time for the attack was drawing close and I couldn't help but feel nervous.

However, even as the military preparations were done, there was one last thing I had to do before we launched our attack.

I quickly conjured up my blue holographic screen and accessed the guild network. As Hughes said, there were tons of requests pinned electronically on the holographic bulletin board. I scanned through them, using my fingers to sweep away irrelevant ones until I finally found one that was closest to what I was looking for.

That one!

I tapped it with my finger and expanded it. After reading through the request, fine print and all, I scrolled to the bottom and hit the Accept tab.

The request vanished and a confirmation email popped up as evidence of me accepting the request. Smiling, I dismissed the blue holographic screen and took a deep breath.

"Major Tanaka."

As if on cue, Lieutenant Kratz walked into my tent before saluting stiffly. I stood up and nodded at her. She maintained her neutral expression, but obediently continued.

"We are about to commence the attack as scheduled."

"Thanks. Let's do this."

"…yes." Elia hesitated for a moment before she finally mustered up the resolve to speak her mind. "Is this really necessary?"

"In order for your men to live?" I met her gaze evenly. "Tell me honestly, Lieutenant. Who's more important, the living or the dead?"

"…the living."

Elia looked uncomfortable, but someone as sharp as her understood that we had to be practical about this. The living had to be prioritized over the dead. That was an insurmountable fact.

However, it didn't mean she had to like it.

Gritting her teeth, Elia saluted before turning away sharply. Before she could step out of the tent, I called out to her.

"Lieutenant Kratz."

"Yes, sir?" She stopped without looking at me. I glanced at her back profile and sighed.

"I'm very sorry. Believe me, I wouldn't do this if I had a better option…but I weighed the odds and possibilities, and this move has the best chance by far…to keep everyone alive."

"I understand, sir," Elia replied stiffly, her back turned to me. "If that's all, then I will go ahead and check on the men."

With that, she stepped out of the tent.

*

I stepped toward the castle. Obviously I was still a kilometer or so away, with the large, open clearing in front of me littered with the dead bodies of the royal guardsmen who had attempted to save Dragon Princess Yuan a few days ago.

The place was a killing ground and nobody in his right mind would step into the open, only to get shot by the soldiers patrolling the walls of the fortress. Not unless he was suicidal.

I wasn't suicidal, but I had a plan in mind. The killing field was full of resources – the dead was a resource that only a necromancer, such as myself, could use. Gathering mana into my hands, I stealthily stepped toward the clearing and cast my Reanimation spell.

The dead rose again. Standing jerkily, almost like puppets whose lifeless joints were forcibly pulled by cruel wires, the slaughtered royal guardsmen slouched and shambled forward, groaning. Their eyes almost seemed to glow in the slowly brightening dawn, filled with unholy magic.

"…"

Elia turned away, unable to look. Gio's mouth was set in a grim line, but he understood the necessity of this ritual. The rookies – the majority of the company, who was still fresh from boot camp – were terrified by the zombies, while the veterans merely looked on disinterestedly.

Unlike Elia, they possessed no sentimental attachment to their fellow demons. They didn't like what I was doing but they didn't disapprove of it either, at least not as strongly as the noble and uptight Elia Kratz.

Despite their moans, the zombies moved so quietly and slowly that they didn't even draw the attention of the sentries until they got close enough. The soldier who was looking over the edge blinked his eyes, initially not believing what he was seeing.

And then the first horde of zombies reached a few dozen meters away from the gates.

"Uh…enemy attack?" he stammered.

The sentries rushed to the front, and the garrison came to life as the soldiers were mobilized. The ramparts was suddenly filled with movement as soldiers ran back and forth, taking aim with their rifles or bows and arrows. Some of them had procured the latest weapons from the dwarves of Moria, but a good number of them were still using antique weapons like bows and crossbows. At their superiors' orders, the castle guards let loose a volley of arrows.

Against a mortal, living army, that would have been a devastating barrage. However, zombies did not fear death or mortal wounds, for they were already dead.

The first line of zombies toppled over from the impact, many of them turned into pincushions. Despite the numerous arrows sticking out of their bodies, however, the zombies merely lurched back to their feet, paying no attention to what would have been grievous wounds. It helped that they were wearing armor, which protected most of their body from crippling blows.

The rifles did more damage, blowing off limbs or outright exploding heads. The zombies who lost their heads fell and never stood up again, permanently casted back into the abyss of death, but they were so few…so few among the tide of unceasing undead. Those that did lose their limbs continued plodding forward, paying no heed to losing an arm or two. Those who had their legs blown out from under them continued to crawl forward, pulling themselves inch by inch with their arms. Relentless, emotionless, merciless, the zombies continued their inexorable march.

Unfortunately, no matter how persistent they were, the zombies weren't able to ram down the gates. Even as the sheer weight of bodies pressed against the gate, the heavy, metallic structure refused to budge.

"Hah!"

The sentries, emboldened by the fact that the zombies' attempts to penetrate the fortress were ultimately futile, grew bold and began reaching out of the ramparts to hold competitions on who could take out more zombies. Jeers, laughter and banter echoed throughout the clearing, the indistinct but unmistakable sounds reaching even to my position.

I smiled.

"Diversion successful," I told Elia's company. No…they were my men right now. I had been given the rank of major in the demonic army for a reason. I had to take command and direct the flow of battle. Turning to my soldiers, I nodded. "Proceed to the next phase of the plan."

My orders were spread out through magic vocalizers that served as radios. At my command, the teams already held in position opened fire.

Platoons 1 and 2 began shooting the east side. From deep cover, the six mortar teams hidden out of sight lobbed their mortars over, the devastating projectiles whistling before they struck the side of the wall and exploded.

"Are you sure this is working?" Elia asked, noticing the horrible accuracy of the mortars. Even though several soldiers were close enough to get struck by flying shrapnel, and even one unlucky fella was thrown off the wall by the blast, most of the shells landed way off the mark, ineffectually hitting the fortified wall. It was only natural – the mortar teams were being manned by rookies. That said, Elia wasn't pleased with the waste of ammunition. "They aren't doing optimal damage to the enemy."

"That's fine," I replied. "They don't need to deal damage to the enemy…just distract them."

"To the east! They're shelling us from the east side! Take them out!"

The bulk of the soldiers were moving to the east and began firing at platoons 1 and 2. The rookies dove down into cover, even as several of them answered back. They didn't bother choosing targets or taking aim – they were just firing wildly and making as much noise as possible. When the enemy fired on their position, they dug deeply into cover and waited it out. When the enemy fire died down, they poked their rifles out and squeezed off a few shots, only to rouse the enemies into another ferocious fusillade of fire.

"All right. They took the bait. Over to you, Sniper Team 1."

"Gee, you're a hard driver, eh, boss?"

I noticed that they were referring to me with the title they normally reserved for Elia, but didn't comment. Instead, I smirked.

"Show me your skills, 'Elite Snipers.'"

"Hah! I'll show you."

"Don't think you can get away, acting all cocky!"

From yet another position in the east, the six snipers fired as one. Six enemy soldiers went down, dead before they knew what hit them. In the confusion, under the constant mortar shelling and sporadic fire from the rookies, the enemy guards didn't realize that they were being sniped. Another six were taken out in the next few seconds. And then another six. By the time the snipers' tally reached the dozens, the survivors realized something was amiss.

"That way!"

An experienced soldier suddenly realized the angle in which the bodies were falling were odd. They were falling back after being hit by the shots fired from the direction of the rookies, but from somewhere else. Raising his voice furiously, he took charge and redirected the aim of the remaining guards. A furious barrage erupted and pelted the snipers' position.

"Whoa!"

"Oh boy, they know we're here!"

"It's fine. Stay down and move from your position. Take up the next spot. Your job here is done for now…and I've to admit, you guys really are elite snipers. Well done."

The snipers didn't even waste a single shot. I was impressed how they didn't miss at all. They weren't just randomly targeting soldiers either – one of the first shots had taken out the commander overseeing the defense of the eastern wall.

"Platoons 3 and 4, it's your turn."

The skeleton crew of sentries posted on the western wall, presumably because the main strength of the garrison had raced to defend the eastern wall and the main gate where the zombies were clamoring for entrance, were taken out by a lucky series of explosions from the next squad of mortars. The lucky few survivors staggered, reeled from the blast, only to be peppered by rifle fire from the rookies. Even though they lacked the accuracy of the veterans, they were heartened and encouraged by the success of the first two platoons. With their morale lifted, the rookies bravely unleashed a withering storm of bullets.

"Enemies! Enemies from the west!"

The few survivors were shouting. As if to emphasize their point, the two platoons stood up and seemed to charge.

Elia and Gio exchanged worried glances, but said nothing. I had allayed their fears when discussing strategy with them last night.

"Are you sure about this?" Gio had asked, glancing at the two young platoons had thrown away their cover and were charging boldly at the wall. "Major, that area is pretty sparse and doesn't have a lot of cover. The men will have to charge over flat terrain. It'll be suicide! And even if they could reach the wall, there's no way for them to breach it…"

"Platoons 3 and 4 will not be really charging. I only want them to show themselves so that they will draw the enemy's attention to themselves. If Count Raum sees the charge, he'll think the mortar teams and platoons 1 and 2 are just a decoy. How do you think he will react?"

That was the reasoning I had given, anyway.

"My lord!"

Inside the castle, one of the surviving military commanders was hastily approaching Count Raum, who was reeling from the sudden assault.

"The enemy is attacking from the west! T…there's a significant number of infantry!"

"Oh?" the fat demon noble sneered and then roared out in laughter. "Oh, I see! Now I can read you."

The attack on the east wall is a decoy! It's drawing the bulk of our forces to the east side…while the enemy tries to breach the walls to the west! But it won't work!

The full strength of the garrison marched toward the west, but at my signal, the rookies suddenly fell back and melted back into cover. Taunting and jeering, the enemy soldiers bombarded the retreating lines with arrows and a few rifle shots, but the rookies were well disciplined and hunkered down in safety without losing a single man.

Nestled back in the forest, they began firing randomly to distract the enemy, even as the mortar shells continued to besiege the beleaguered wall. Unfortunately, I couldn't count on the mortars to demolish those heavily armored walls. They were too well built for that.

"Second sniper team…show me that you're just as good as the first."

"Roger that, boss!"

In the melee, the second team of snipers took out key figures such as commanders and sergeants, or the riflemen, who were the most threatening warriors of the lot. While they kept the bulk of the forces occupied, I turned to the remaining men.

"You ready for this?"

"Not really…but we don't have a choice, do we?"

Elia sounded bitter. I just shrugged, and then ran forward.

"Hey, Major! Wait!"

Gio was shouting, and then he sighed and shook his head.

"Forward, for the Emperor!"

"For the Emperor!"

"Oi!" I snapped. "Stick to the plan and don't make too much noise!"

The next phase of the plan, with HQ platoon under me, was supposed to move stealthily toward the main entrance by blending in with the zombies. I slowed to a walk and gently blended in with the zombies, using them as cover to camouflage my movements. Following my example, Elia, Gio and HQ platoon moved with the zombies, smoothly weaving through the horde of undead bodies and closing in the distance toward the castle.

As long as we didn't open fire or make too much noise, the enemy wouldn't spot us. The bulk of their forces were too busily amassing on the western front and shooting at ghosts while getting sniped to oblivion. As with the eastern front, the enemies would eventually become aware of the snipers, but until then I was going to take advantage of the lull in security from the main gate. The few sentries posted there continue to take potshots at the swarm of zombies hammering on the front gate. They didn't notice that something was amiss, that the living had now mixed in with the dead.

Several arrows actually struck me, but I was wearing my Redwood jacket, which protected me from the projectiles. The archers, probably because of the milling, shambling undead around me, mistook it as my undead tenacity shrugging off what would normally be fatal shots for a mortal. I was relieved, though. As long as I took the brunt of the shots, it meant the shots were being directed away from my men.

Reaching the gate, I raised my hands slightly and casted a second Reanimation spell.

The dead within the castle rose. Having been sniped and taken out by the two teams of snipers, the slain staggered to their feet. Their comrades, too occupied with trying to take out the four platoons and hunt down the snipers, didn't realize the danger until it was too late.

"Eh…ah? AAAAH!"

Screams rang through the air as soldiers were grabbed from behind and hauled down, their necks torn out by teeth. The interior of the castle erupted into chaos as the guards suddenly found themselves confronting a new, deadly enemy within their supposedly secure walls – enemies that wore the grotesque, distorted visages of their former comrades.

Worse, even as more soldiers died, they were turned into zombies. Before their corpses hit the floor, they were already transforming, moaning and reaching out for the few living who remained. The orderly, disciplined line of soldiers dissolved into chaos as they were forcibly dragged into hand-to-hand melee with abominations…a near unkillable army that swelled in numbers with each subsequent battle, new recruits added to the ranks in the form of fresh victims.

Even though they couldn't see what was going on inside the castle, HQ platoon could still hear the dreadful screams and cries of terrified men as the castle's defenses collapsed. Elia and Gio glanced at each other uneasily before looking at me – the former in fear and the latter in awe.

I still remembered the discussion we had yesterday when I proposed that HQ platoon follow me right into the doorstep of the castle.

"So we're bluffing to the east and to the west…so that we can break through the front gate?" Elia had asked. I nodded, but Gio suddenly raised his hand in protest.

"Hold on. If we use this plan, too many of our men will be devoted to occupying the enemies on the walls. Our charge through the gate will be severely thinned out, and we won't have enough men to take the castle!"

"Oh, we would," I had assured him with an enigmatic smile. "If everything goes according to plan, we'll have an army fighting the enemies for us."

"…what? How?"

Elia had pursed her lips. Having shown her disapproval to the plan right from the beginning, she had caught on to my idea.

"The major is a necromancer. How else do you think he will raise an army for us?"

I knew it. Elia Kratz, despite her youth and noble arrogance, was pretty sharp and astute. I didn't make a mistake in selecting her company for this. However, her noble pride and honor had somewhat blinded her to the necessities of the situation.

On the other hand, Gio didn't need that much convincing. He had beamed when he understood and slapped my back.

"Oh, yeah…that's one hell of an idea! I'm in!"

But now the question was how to breach the gate…

That was easy. I drew my staff from my inventory. Too distracted by the zombies that had taken over the castle from the inside, the sentries didn't notice the new threat. Raising my staff, I gathered mana into it and then unleashed a single spell.

Shadow Lunar Fang.

The gate blew up. The metal cracked and bent inward, shrapnel and shards flying and impaling the sentries manning it. More soldiers for my army of undead. Even before they fully rose in their new un-life as zombies, I was already running in. The zombies who had once been the royal guard flooded in after me, with HQ platoon going along with the flow and taking charge and initiative in ways that only the living could.

"Men of Magna Seventh!" Gio hollered, rousing the rookies into a fevered charge. "Do you want to live forever?!"

"Oooh!"

"Straight silver! Fix bayonets!"

"Yes, sir!"

Following Gio's lead, the rookies of HQ platoon clashed with the few remaining soldiers, who were being too overwhelmed by the unceasing tide of undead to fight back. Standing at the front, I struck the few sentries still futilely resisting and proceeded straight toward the main house of the castle.

"Breach!"

"Invaders! The enemy has invaded the castle!"

The bulk of the forces garrisoned at the western wall wheeled around to confront this new threat. Even with the losses they encountered at the hands of the elite snipers and the zombies that miraculously rose from the dead, they posed a formidable force.

…against a mortal army, at least.

"What the…?!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Fall back!"

"To where!?"

"Gaaah!"

The mass of royal guard zombies, still somehow clinging to a vestige of vengeance for suffering death at the hands of these soldiers, lunged at the guards mercilessly. Mobbed by the sudden current of undead, more soldiers fell, only to be added to the ranks of zombies.

"Major!"

Elia was shouting as she fought her way toward me, her sword scything down the remnant of the garrison forces.

"The princess should be located in the main building! Get to the basement…I believe Count Raum is holding her prisoner in the dungeon! You remember the schematics, right?"

"Right!"

Before the mission, we had been issued the schematics of Raum's castle. To prepare for the rescue, we tried to memorize the layout of the castle as best as we could. Intelligence pinpointed Yuan's location to most likely be in the dungeon.

Barreling past a couple of frightened soldiers who were quaking before the onslaught of the undead, I smashed through the front door of the main building. Behind me, the HQ platoon were taking custody of whatever enemy soldiers willing to surrender.

I didn't blame them. If I was faced with the threat of an endless wave of zombies trying to eat me and turn me into one of them, I would probably surrender too.

"Go, Major! Get Dragon Princess Yuan and save her!"

"I will, Lieutenant. I will be back." Turning to HQ platoon, I gestured for two of the rookies to follow me. Magg and Twezent, if I remembered their names. "You two, with me! We're going to grab the princess out of this Lyia forsaken place!"

"Yes, sir!"

The two rookies obeyed and followed me. Bounding across the hall, I turned down a corridor that I recalled led to the stairs below. Or so I hoped, because my memory wasn't the most reliable. Thankfully, Magg seemed to know his way around.

"This way, sir!"

"Great!"

We practically flew down the stairs, only for a bunch of sentries to come running toward us. I sprang forward and yanked Magg back before he could get impaled by a spear.

Or spears.

At least seven spears struck me, but they failed to penetrate the regenerative defense of my Redwood jacket. My assailants stared at me in shock, and I smiled at them.

"Who are you…?"

"Major Tomoyuki Tanaka," I replied before blasting them apart with a single Shadow Lunar Fang. Before their shredded bodies hit the floor, I was already striding toward the dungeon. Magg and Twezent stared at each other, then hastily followed me.

"…?!"

Dragon Princess Yuan was hung up in the dungeon, shackled to the walls. Her once pristine robes had been torn and tattered, probably by Raum or whoever tried to humiliate her through interrogation. I couldn't imagine what she had been through the past few days, and didn't want to imagine.

On the other hand, she didn't look that hurt. She looked up at me, alert and sharp, showing no sign of psychological damage. If anything, there was a fierce defiance that continued to burn in her eyes, the same defiance I saw when I first met her and she attacked me.

Yeah, Dragon Princess Yuan was a strong girl indeed. It also helped that Raum didn't resort to rape or physical torture…even he knew the consequences of hurting Yuan before receiving the ransom. He would have closed off any paths of negotiation and brought total war upon him and his alliance if he did that.

Hell, even the nobles he had roped into his alliance might abandon him if he committed an atrocity like that to a princess of one of the major noble clans.

"You…you are?!"

"We meet again."

Even though Yuan recognized me, it took her some time before she could put a name to my face. Her lips moved soundlessly before she finally remembered.

"Sir Tanaka!"

"The very same. I'm here on behalf of your husband, his highness Prince Richard, to rescue you. In fact, he and his father have specifically ordered me to escort you safely out of here and back to Helsfort."

"…Richard!"

Her husband's name caught her attention and she stared at me keenly, her eyes dark and fierce. But they were also filled with worry. I recalled the moment when I saw Prince Richard stumble back through the castle of Helsfort, terribly wounded, and understood her concern. However, Yuan did not share my knowledge.

Straining against her restraints, she stared at me urgently.

"Is Richard…is his highness all right?"

"His highness Prince Richard is safe," I assured her as I tried to search the remains of the wardens for the keys to her cell, but there was no luck. "He was healed as soon as he was brought back. He wished to be brought along on this mission, but his majesty King Regis Gremory overruled him. That's why I am here, in his place."

"Ah…"

Yuan sighed in relief and relaxed.

"But we're not out of the woods yet. Now it's your turn to return home to safety."

"Sir…we don't have the keys," Magg grumbled. I shrugged.

"Then we do this the old-fashioned way."

"Old-fashioned way…?" Twezent asked. I replied with a nod and raised my staff. Black mana swirled around its tip before lancing out and obliterating the prison bars between us and Dragon Princess Yuan.

"Whoa!"

"Amazing…"

"You're demons. You'll learn these spells soon enough." I wondered why there was no magic corps. It was funny seeing demihumans and demons relying on technology such as rifles, mortars and cannons instead of spells and curses, but now wasn't the time to wonder about that. For now I focused on my mission.

"!"

Yuan sucked in a breath in surprise as I swung my mana-coated staff, severing the shackles that held her. The chains fell away, clinking heavily. Lowering my staff, I turned toward the stairs, where my two subordinates kept watch with their rifles.

"Still clear. Looks like the Lieutenant and the rest are giving them a fierce fight!"

"There shouldn't be many soldiers left…most of them were turned into zombies."

"…zombies?"

Yuan stared at us, not comprehending. I waved her question away.

"Don't mind the small details. More importantly, Lieutenant Kratz and the rest are waiting for us. Let's go."

At my command, the four of us sprinted up the stairs.