Chapter 61: The Darkest Hour

Jerwis was cursing incessantly, spewing every obscenity he could think of at the Hafdans. After a wave of retreat, he again gathered several unfortunate conscripted soldiers to join him in a desperate defense of the passage leading to the staircase. A few conscripts armed with long spears blocked the passage, with two shield-bearing guards standing in front, thrusting their spears through the gaps between the shields and men, targeting the Hafdans who liked to throw axes. This formation, with shields at the front, rendered the Hafdans' thrown axes ineffective, halting their advance in the narrow corridor.

Meanwhile, Ceddis finally brought up the poles. By this time, despite a few ladders being set ablaze and rendered unusable, the Hafdans' fifteen long ladders were still continuously delivering troops onto the city walls. If these ladders were not dealt with, the defenders would eventually be overwhelmed in this relentless onslaught.

In the chaos of close quarters, the poles were evidently not useful, but Ceddis also brought hooks. Similar to the poles, these were long wooden sticks with iron hooks at the end, designed to latch onto the Hafdans' ladders from the side, enabling several men to pull and topple them.

The plan was to have the spear and shield bearers block the passage while the conscripts worked together to pull down the ladders, cutting off the Hafdans' reinforcement route. However, when Ceddis and his men attempted to execute this plan, they were met with fierce resistance from enemy archers. Every time someone tried to hook a ladder, they were struck down by arrows shot from the darkness below the walls.

Jerwis, in a fit of rage, yelled at Cedris, "Where are your men?! Where are our archers?! Shoot them down!" Ceddis retorted angrily, "Shut up! Look around you, do we even have any archers left?!"

Jerwis looked around to realize that the archers who had been sniping Hafdans from the towers and walls were no longer standing. In the heat of the battle, Gwenis's archers had been silenced. The torches and fire pots on the walls had exposed the defenders' archers, while the Hafdan shooters remained hidden in the darkness, safely firing their arrows. This asymmetric warfare was devastating for the defenders.

Gwenis's hastily trained archers, despite their visible improvement over the months, couldn't compare to the Hafdans, who originated from fishing and hunting tribes. When the Hafdans managed to get within twenty meters for safe shooting, the fate of the defenders' archers was sealed.

Not all were killed, however. The chaos on the walls made it impossible to shoot, and the towers, being too conspicuous, were easy targets. The surviving archers were driven from their posts, some roaming the courtyard with shortbows, while others resorted to swords and axes, engaging the Hafdans in hand-to-hand combat.

Regardless, the defenders' archers could no longer provide cover fire.

Seeing no way to breach the shield and spear defense in the corridor, some Hafdans got a devious idea. They peeked into the courtyard, considering the height of the wall, about six meters with the barricades. It was a height one could survive a fall from.

With a surge of reckless courage, some Hafdans climbed over the barricades and jumped down into the courtyard, ready to continue the fight from there.

"About six meters high, roughly the height of a two-story building, akin to jumping down from the third floor. Indeed, one wouldn't die from such a fall, but to spring back into battle as if unscathed was hardly realistic. Moreover, the courtyard was not empty; it was filled with groups of conscripted soldiers from the castle who had been waiting there for some time.

Due to the narrowness atop the walls, there wasn't space for hundreds to battle, so both the Hafdans and the defenders fought in waves. Only when those on the wall had nearly all perished, freeing up space, could fresh troops be sent up. Others had to wait on either side of the wall.

At this moment, the conscripted soldiers in the yard, seeing a Hafdan leap down, would they remain indifferent? No, they would flee.

...

Gwynnis suddenly stepped back, dodging the heavy axe swung by 'Six-fingered' Herall. Seeing even the stone floor dented by the axe, his lips twitched slightly.

Herall was incredibly strong, over two meters tall and weighing more than 150 kilograms, a muscular and hefty man, even exceptional among the Hafdans. At this moment, Herall, eyes nearly spitting fire, was fixated on Gwynnis.

Not only had Gwynnis killed his brother, but in the previous sieges and this night's surprise attack, many from Herall's tribe had died. This was unforgivable for him.

Now, his sworn enemy stood before him. How could Herall contain his rage?

After several attacks were dodged by Gwynnis, Herall finally erupted. He tried to run quickly along the wall, aiming to cleave Gwynnis in two with his axe, but got entangled in the side barricades. In his fury, he wildly swung his axe, chopping down any obstruction around him.

In the midst of Herall's rage and flying wood chips, Gwynnis launched a counterattack. His sword was destroyed, but he picked up a large log lying in the corridor and rammed it straight into Herall.

"Thud!"

Caught off guard, Herall was struck full-on by the log, tumbling backward. Seizing the opportunity, Gwynnis quickly stepped back, widening the distance between them, and swiftly and adeptly opened his panel, intending to add points again.

However, he froze upon opening the panel.

It wasn't because the experience points hadn't been credited. He had just killed a bunch of Hafdans, and the 14,000 experience points were already in his account, filling the experience progress bar, which now displayed "14,000/8,000" - everything appeared normal.

The issue was with the strength value, which had previously shown "MAX". Now, a red "+" symbol reappeared, suggesting he could add points again.

What was going on?

Indeed, Gwynnis hadn't looked carefully before hurriedly closing the panel earlier, but there was no helping it under the pressing circumstances.

But now? What was this red "+" for?

Was it just simply adding more strength?

Trying it out, it showed a requirement of 10,000 experience points, not the 8,000 from the progress bar.

Clearly, there were now two separate progressions, independent of each other. Though both consumed personal points, their effects seemed to differ.

Gwynnis glanced quickly at Herall, who was rapidly getting up; time was short. He could safely add a point to agility for 8,000 personal points, which would greatly assist in the upcoming battle.

Or, he could try this newly acquired red "+" for 10,000 points, its effect unknown.

What to do? Should he give it a try?

As Gwynnis hesitated, Herall had already stood up.

Who says fat men and strong men are slow?

Pure prejudice.

At least Herall wasn't like that. On the contrary, he was exceedingly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had sprung up from the ground, his eyes ablaze with fire as he lunged at Gwynnis.

Gritting his teeth, Gwynnis pressed the red "+".

"Ding!"

"Strength-type skill added."

"Skill acquired: Crimson Thunder."