Siege of the Fortress 1

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

Seeing Samal hesitating, the wizard Scott secretly sneered.

"Really, how can such a coward become a commander? I really don't understand what Duke Giles was thinking," Scott thought to himself.

Confident in his own magic, Scott believed he could easily take the fortress.

He stood up slowly, bowed slightly to Samal who sat at the head, and then surveyed the officers present.

"My lord Samal, and esteemed generals, please allow me to formally introduce you to my specialty magic—enchantment."

"With my magic, I can temporarily or permanently enhance weapons, armor, and other equipment. For defensive armor, for example, I can increase the defense of a light leather armor to that of scale or chainmail, and a light chainmail to the strength of plate armor."

"I believe everyone witnessed the performance of the scouts a few days ago. Five of our men fought against seven enemies and achieved overwhelming victory. Except for one who escaped, four were killed, and two were captured, while our side suffered only minor injuries."

An officer exclaimed, "Yes, it was truly incredible. Your magic is truly extraordinary."

Scott looked at him with satisfaction.

"I can enchant swords to turn ordinary iron swords into steel swords, and crude weapons into ones forged by master dwarves."

The officers present exclaimed in admiration and discussed the significance of enchantments in combat.

Samal asked, "How many people can you enchant? Is there no limit?"

Scott proudly replied, "My lord, with my abilities and those of my subordinates, we can enchant effects for 500 soldiers wearing ordinary leather armor, raising their defense to the level of plate armor. Also, if the soldiers wear leather boots and gloves, they can achieve the effect of a full set of armor."

Samal then asked, "Is this enhancement permanent?"

Scott's voice suddenly lowered, "Uh... no, the effect can last about five hours. But if enchanted during the manufacturing process, it can achieve a semi-permanent effect."

Samal shook his head, "If it's manufactured now, we won't have time."

"My lord!"

Scott raised his voice again, "Four to five hours is completely sufficient. Just imagine, 500 soldiers equipped with plate armor strength, if used as a striking force to capture a certain point on the city wall, followed by rapid reinforcements, we can quickly take Thorn Fortress."

"Um..."

Samal hesitated. 500 soldiers equipped with plate armor? That was indeed a considerable force. In the past hundred years, the entire Aldor Kingdom might not have produced more than 300 sets of plate armor, most of which were passed down from father to son, or preserved as family heirlooms by knights or nobles.

Seeing Samal seemed somewhat tempted, Scott continued, "My lord! There's another advantage to my enchantments. The enchanted equipment maintains its original weight. A piece of enchanted leather armor remains as light as leather, unlike plate armor which is so heavy."

"Alright!"

This final statement finally won over Samal. With defense as extraordinary as plate armor, yet as easy to wear as leather, even Samal himself wanted to personally test it out in battle.

He turned to a nearby officer and ordered, "Within three days, select 500 strong soldiers. We will launch an attack five days from now."

The officer immediately stood up and responded, "Yes, my lord."

Scott smiled in satisfaction, "Wise decision, my lord!"

If he could assist in capturing Thorn Fortress, his position within the organization would rise another notch.

Thinking about this, Scott couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.

...

Five days later, the alarm bell used for alerting within Thorn Fortress rang incessantly; the rebel army was finally beginning their attack.

During these days, rebel scouts increasingly frequented the fortress's vigilance zones to gather intelligence. Leicester personally apprehended several during patrols.

However, they hadn't discovered the conditions described by the injured scouts.

The enemy's increasingly frequent reconnaissance made everyone within Thorn Fortress tense, though they knew this day would inevitably come.

On November 15th, scout reports swiftly arrived: a large rebel force had entered the vigilance zone and was heading straight for the fortress.

Duke Dodge immediately ordered the alarm bell rung and the entire army to prepare for battle. The fortress quickly entered a bustling state of readiness.

The Duke himself led Klein and Leicester up onto the city walls, overseeing the battle on site.

Not long after, they spotted the rebel banners.

"It's been a while since they've sent this many since we ambushed them under cover of night!"

"It seems like they mean business this time."

"It's infuriating. If not for last year's plague, I, a duke, wouldn't be scraping together such a meager force of a few thousand."

The three muttered quietly. Despite the incredibly tense atmosphere, each person's gaze remained resolute, devoid of fear.

Duke Dodge drew his ancestral sword and raised it high in the air, its blade sparkling in the sunlight.

"For the kingdom!"

Klein and Leicester also drew their swords and held them aloft, clashing them together with the Duke's.

"For His Majesty the King! For Her Highness the Princess!"

Together, they shouted their determination to slay the enemy: "To death or victory over the rebels!"

...

Not far south of the fortress, the rebel army had already formed up for the attack.

To launch this assault, Samal had brought a total of ten thousand soldiers.

Despite the initial plan not being to attack the fortress, Giles had still allocated considerable forces here to keep watch over Thorn Fortress, as they had to guard against the northern kingdom's army advancing south.

Although they had burned the Crystal Glare Grain Warehouse, no one dared assure that the royal family didn't have other food stores elsewhere, so defense forces in this direction couldn't be reduced.

Six siege towers stood menacingly erected; they looked quite new from their exterior, having been hastily assembled by the rebel army in just five days.

Once the attack began, soldiers would brave the arrows fired from the fortress walls to push these towers up to the edge of the city walls. They would then raise ladders onto the walls from these towers, with assault soldiers climbing the ladders at great risk to engage the defenders on the walls in combat.

Beneath one of the siege towers, the wizard Scott stood proudly. He looked confident, as if victory were already assured.

"Finally, the moment has arrived!"

"History will remember this moment! For this will be the starting point of my rise, Lord Scott!"

Numerous figures could be seen atop the fortress; the defenders reacted swiftly, already in their positions, having evidently trained for this moment for some time.

But the wizard didn't regard them highly.

"And you all shall become my sacrifices! Sacrifices to the Arcane Order!"

(End of the Chapter)