Chapter 166: The Onset of Battle

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Early in the morning, while it was still barely light outside, a loud knock sounded on the door.

"Merlin, get up! Something's happened!"

Outside, Merlin could hear his father Wilson's deep voice, and he sounded urgent.

"Hmm?"

Merlin's eyes snapped open. Beside him, Avril and Sheryl were still fast asleep, showing no signs of waking.

Without disturbing them, Merlin got out of bed and opened the door. Outside stood old Wilson, his expression anxious. Upon seeing Merlin, he said in a grave tone, "Merlin, hurry. Longadi has already deployed his forces, and they're at the city gates. Earl Celine has summoned you to the castle for counsel."

"Longadi moved this quickly?"

Merlin was a bit surprised. He had expected Longadi would need more time to prepare for a full assault on Pugasi City-State, but it seemed he had been ready to act.

"Father, I'm heading there now!"

Merlin dressed quickly and went to the hall, where two knights were already waiting.

"Baron, the Earl requests your presence."

The knights were courteous and respectful as they addressed Merlin.

"Lead the way," Merlin replied, following them into the carriage and making haste toward the Earl's castle.

The carriage soon arrived, and as Merlin disembarked, he noticed many other carriages parked outside the castle gates, indicating that Earl Celine had summoned quite a few people.

Upon entering the castle, Merlin saw numerous nobles, most of whom wore anxious expressions. Earl Celine looked particularly troubled, barely maintaining a composed facade in front of the crowd.

"Baron Merlin! You arrived just in time. The Lebis army is outside the city, and Pugasi's situation has grown dire!"

Earl Celine's eyes brightened at the sight of Merlin, but his tone revealed his unease. The Earl, normally poised even in the face of threats, was visibly shaken, a testament to the gravity of the current crisis.

"The Lebis army is already at our gates, yet no one here has a plan?" Merlin glanced around the room, noticing the noblemen wore expressions of resignation but seemed at a loss.

"Our only option now is to fight!" declared a figure stepping forward with conviction. Squinting, Merlin recognized the speaker—it was Captain Cook, Earl Celine's son.

"Hah, that's right! What choice do we have but to fight?"

Suddenly, a sharp voice echoed from the doorway. A figure cloaked in black robes, his entire form hidden beneath the wide folds, stepped forward. It was none other than the black-robed elder.

Earl Celine's face lit up at the sight of the elder, though a flicker of concern soon replaced it. In a low voice, he asked, "Mage Hill, how are your injuries?"

The Earl knew Mage Hill had been injured, though he didn't fully understand the nature of the instability in his spell model. But he was aware that the mage's condition had been precarious.

Mage Hill's eyes scanned the room, resting momentarily on Merlin before he nodded. Raising his voice, he said, "Thanks to the potions Merlin brought back from the Dark Arcane Order, I've recovered somewhat. Though I'm not fully healed, I can still fight at full strength, and given Pugasi's peril, how could I not come?"

The Earl nodded, relieved that Mage Hill's presence would strengthen their forces. Turning to Merlin, he asked, "Baron Merlin, do you agree with Captain Cook and Mage Hill's proposal? Should we fight?"

Merlin considered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I support Captain Cook and Mage Hill's suggestion. At this point, the only option left is to fight."

A tense silence filled the hall as all eyes turned toward Earl Celine. Now was the time for him to decide.

"Then we fight, no matter the cost! If Longadi wants Pugasi City-State, he must be prepared to pay a heavy price!"

Earl Celine stood up, his voice resolute, filled with unyielding determination.

"To battle, no matter the cost!" The noblemen echoed in unison, their voices a resounding affirmation of their resolve to defend Pugasi City at any cost.

The Earl quickly began organizing the city's forces, while Merlin approached Mage Hill to ask quietly, "Mage Hill, are you certain you're up for this?"

The elder smiled, nodding. "Indeed. The Purple Stone Powder potion you gave me is highly effective. Though it hasn't entirely stabilized my spell model, I'm fully capable of casting spells now."

This meant that Mage Hill was combat-ready and no longer at risk of his spell model collapsing with every spell he cast.

With preparations complete, everyone gathered on the city walls.

From the vantage point, Merlin could clearly see the Lebis army below—a sea of soldiers, some bearing long spears, others with shields, archers positioned farther back, and even the formidable war crossbows.

These massive war crossbows were rare and difficult to produce, but when unleashed, they could fire dozens of bolt-sized arrows simultaneously with deadly force. The presence of such powerful siege weapons underscored Longadi's determination to conquer Pugasi.

The Earl's face paled slightly as he took in the view.

"We can't hold out forever. Eventually, they'll break through. We have to strike first."

Earl Celine quickly gathered his composure, understanding that their only option was to strike while they could still make a difference.

"Open the gates! Deploy the cavalry—two thousand knights, charge the enemy lines!" he commanded.

In large-scale battles like this, tactical prowess was crucial. Neither Merlin nor Mage Hill could offer much assistance in that regard. Merlin's primary role was to monitor for any enemy mages attempting to breach the gates. As long as the city gates held, Pugasi City would remain defensible.

The gates opened, and a torrent of knights poured out, their armor gleaming in the dawn light. Among them, a wave of black-clad knights caught Merlin's eye.

"Father!"

Merlin narrowed his eyes as he spotted old Wilson leading his own contingent of heavy cavalry into the fray.

Seeing Merlin's concern, the Earl asked, "Should I order Commander Wilson to return?"

Merlin shook his head, his gaze fixed on his father. "No, this is the life my father wants. Training the heavy cavalry all these years has been for this very moment—to return to the battlefield."

He understood that the years his father had spent in the military had shaped him profoundly, and this was where old Wilson felt most alive.

"Charge!" Earl Celine ordered, sending two thousand knights charging at the Lebis army, who responded with thousands of knights of their own, igniting a brutal clash.

Amid this maelstrom of fighting, individual lives seemed small and insignificant. This was the largest battlefield Merlin had ever witnessed, where two cavalry forces collided in relentless combat, each side fighting to the death.

Amid the chaos, the black-clad wave of heavy cavalry led by old Wilson stood out. His elite unit, nurtured over years, sliced through the enemy ranks like a blade through flesh.

But their numbers were limited, and gradually, Pugasi's knights began to falter.

Watching the battle unfold, Earl Celine sighed and shook his head. "We're losing… Sound the retreat. Have everyone fall back to the city and shut the gates."

Earl Celine quickly recognized their disadvantage and knew that they couldn't afford to squander their remaining forces. They would need every soldier they had to hold the city.

As the knights retreated, Merlin focused on his father's safety. Though the heavy cavalry had taken casualties, old Wilson remained unharmed, and he safely returned to the city.

Relieved, Merlin surveyed the masses of enemy soldiers below. His strongest area-of-effect spell, Lightning Web, could cover only a limited area, far from enough to decimate an army. That kind of firepower belonged to fourth-level mages and above.

Turning to Mage Hill, Merlin asked, "Mage Hill, you've fought in the brutal 'Slaughterhouse' wars. Not every mage on the battlefield was at the fourth level, surely. How did the lower-level mages hold their own?"