The main force of Degald had arrived at the gates of Perdiom’s castle.

They positioned themselves in front of the southern gate and walls, setting up camp just a short distance from the fortress. Watching them, Zwalter felt his vision blur with dread.

“Can we really hold out?”

Hearing about their arrival had been one thing, but seeing it was entirely different. The sight of the long rows of tents and the massive army left him with a growing weight in his chest.

“No, we must hold them off. We have to—no matter what.”

It wasn’t just for himself, but for the people of the territory that he had to fight.

As Zwalter steeled his resolve, the soldiers and knights positioned on the walls swallowed hard, each of them trembling slightly.

“How are we supposed to stop that?”

“We’re doomed. They’ll breach the gate in no time.”

“Even if they just push forward, we’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

Experience in the north, bonds forged through camaraderie, and even long-standing loyalty meant nothing in the face of such overwhelming force.

Just standing there, staring at the enemy, their spirits began to break. Degald’s army, however, did not immediately attack. After setting up lookouts, they began assembling siege weapons.

In less than a day, they had erected four massive siege towers and a catapult. The sight of these towering machines sent waves of terror through Perdiom’s soldiers.

“A siege tower…”

“I’ve never seen one before.”

“They’re going to use those on these flimsy walls?”

While they had heard of siege towers, it was their first time seeing them in action. Watching the soldiers panic, Zwalter’s face darkened.

“This is bad. They’ve already lost their nerve before the fight has even begun.”

The sight of the massive siege towers alone was enough to drain what little fighting spirit remained in Perdiom’s forces.

In contrast, Count Tamos was grinning from ear to ear.

“Seems the rumors were true. Count Perdiom really only focused on his northern fortress. This castle is in worse shape than ours!”

Even though Viktor had told him not to worry, Tamos couldn’t help but feel anxious. He was naturally timid and hoped the war wouldn’t drag on.

Since their forces were so much larger, he preferred to crush the enemy with one decisive blow.

“To think the castle is this pathetic. Haha! How fortunate for us. This will be over in no time, right?”

Viktor merely glanced at him, showing no reaction, but Tamos was too pleased with himself to care. He laughed and chattered away.

Once the preparations were complete, a knight approached Viktor to report.

“We’re ready to advance.”

“Start with the catapult.”

With a wave of his hand, Viktor ordered the catapult to begin firing. Though they only had one due to a shortage of stones, even that was enough.

Boom! Boom!

“Ahh! Take cover!”

The soldiers of Perdiom were caught off guard and scrambled for safety as the giant stones rained down.

Normally, a herald would first arrive to demand a formal surrender before hostilities commenced. But Degald’s army had launched an attack without any warning, making their intent to utterly destroy the enemy clear.

Zwalter swung his sword, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Take cover!”

With the enemy forces still far off, there was no way to counterattack. Fortunately, catapults fired slowly, and it wasn’t too difficult to avoid the falling stones.

Boom! Boom!

Watching the walls slowly crack under the assault, Zwalter bit his lip.

“If only we had a catapult of our own, we could fight back.”

The enemy clearly knew they had no such weapon, showing no signs of concern or defense against one.

“The traitors must have told them everything.”

Boom! Boom!

The barrage from the catapult eventually ceased, as the stones they had were all used up. But in that brief assault, much of Perdiom’s walls had already crumbled.

Seeing the destruction, Viktor smirked, curling his lip.

“A good start.”

The rubble had piled up so high that it almost served as a ramp to scale the walls without needing ladders.

Raising his hand, Viktor finally gave the order to advance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a thunderous rhythm from their war drums, Degald’s army began moving in unison.

“Prepare yourselves! The enemy is advancing!”

At Zwalter’s command, Perdiom’s soldiers braced themselves, trembling as they readied for battle.

Even from a distance, the sight of the disciplined enemy soldiers marching in formation was overwhelming. And the enemy vastly outnumbered them.

“Don’t panic! We have the castle on our side!”

Zwalter never stopped shouting, trying to rally his men. Though their hands shook so much that they could barely hold their weapons, his words gave them a sliver of hope, and they struggled to compose themselves.

Rumble!

The enemy’s main force didn’t advance all the way to the walls. Instead, the two siege towers on the flanks began to move forward.

Watching the towers approach, Zwalter shouted again.

“Fire!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A volley of flaming arrows flew towards the siege towers, but the leather-covered and water-soaked wooden structures didn’t catch fire easily.

Setting such massive towers ablaze would have required them to be thoroughly soaked in oil, something Perdiom had none of.

And, of course, the enemy didn’t stand idly by.

Swoosh!

Under the protection of shield bearers, Degald’s archers stepped forward and launched their own volley towards the castle walls.

“Ahh!”

“Get down!”

“Hug the walls and return fire!”

Several of Perdiom’s soldiers were struck down by arrows, while the survivors crouched low, firing back as best they could.

But the disparity in numbers was too great, and their efforts barely managed to slow the enemy.

Meanwhile, the siege towers reached both sides of the wall.

Thud! Thud!

The drawbridges of the siege towers slammed down onto the walls, and hordes of enemy soldiers began pouring out.

“Hold the line! Randolph, go to the other side!”

Zwalter and Randolph split up, leading their soldiers to defend the walls and fight back against the invaders.

“Waaaah!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

On the narrow walls, chaos erupted in close-quarters combat.

“Hold them back!”

Both Zwalter and Randolph cut down the enemy wherever they could, fighting alongside their men. Despite being outnumbered, they skillfully commanded the troops, holding their positions against the enemy’s relentless onslaught.

Watching the battle from a distance, Viktor’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“They’re holding up well. What a waste for them to rot away in this place.”

Tamos, growing anxious, urged Viktor.

“Can’t we just send the knights to break down the gate? Wouldn’t that be faster?”

Viktor didn’t bother hiding his disdain as he looked down at Tamos.

To breach the gate, they would have to concentrate their forces in one place. But with their troops already on the walls, there was no need to open another front.

Besides, using knights just to break open the gate was a waste.

Knights were far more valuable than ordinary soldiers. Better to lose hundreds of men than to risk a single knight.

“If the gate is breached, the enemy will abandon the walls and converge there.”

“Then we can just overwhelm them, right?”

“Perdiom’s inner castle is quite small. Even if we break through, only a limited number of troops can enter at a time. We’ll have to engage in successive waves.”

Successive wave tactics involved sending in smaller groups of soldiers one after another. While it could wear down the enemy, with capable commanders on the other side, they could end up fighting around the gate for days.

Pointing back towards the walls, Viktor continued his explanation, barely hiding his annoyance.

“The same is true for the walls, but once we’ve opened enough pathways, we can scatter their forces and defeat them one by one. We have the advantage in numbers. We should leverage that to minimize our losses.”

Despite Viktor’s irritation, Tamos was slow to understand and asked another question.

“So... will this be over today?”

“Should I just kill him now?”

Viktor felt his patience wearing thin. Tamos was set to die soon anyway, and the war was almost over. It wouldn’t matter if he killed him here and now.

After a moment’s thought, Viktor sighed deeply.

Tamos was still surrounded by knights and soldiers. It wouldn’t be difficult to kill them all, but causing chaos in the rear would only serve to embolden the enemy.

“In confined spaces, battles tend to drag on.”

Though Tamos didn’t fully grasp the explanation, he saw Viktor’s dark expression and nodded.

Just as Viktor predicted, Perdiom was trapped in a dire situation.

If they failed to hold the walls, defeat was inevitable. The enemy would swarm over the walls, surrounding their forces, forcing them to retreat deeper into the castle.

But defending the entire length of the walls was impossible due to the overwhelming number of enemy troops.

Though Zwalter and Randolph fought fiercely, Perdiom's soldiers were growing exhausted. No matter how many enemies they cut down, more kept coming, wearing them down with each wave.

“We have to hold on!” Zwalter clenched his teeth. He had to kill as many of the enemy as possible before his soldiers collapsed from exhaustion.

Watching the stalemate on the walls, Viktor smiled.

“Send more troops to the collapsed section of the wall. We’ll divide their forces between the wall and the gate. Once we gain a foothold, we’ll hold our position.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Drums and horns sounded again as Degald’s central forces began advancing toward the breached section of the wall.

Seeing more enemies approaching, Zwalter grew desperate.

“We don’t have enough soldiers to defend both the wall and the breach! Randolph can’t hold the breach by himself! We’re too spread out!”

The enemy’s central forces and cavalry had yet to move, waiting for the right moment. It was clear they intended to divide Perdiom’s already strained defenses further.

If the breach were fully taken, it would serve as a staging point for enemy troops to pour into the castle.

Zwalter shouted in desperation, “Ghislaine! Defend the breach!”

Inside the castle, Ghislaine was waiting with his mercenaries, fully armed and wearing black armor. Their armor was reinforced with something extra that had been carefully attached.

Nearby, Skoban and the guards of the Forest of Beasts were gathered by the castle's gate.

“Lord Ghislaine! The count has given the order! You must move to support the breach! Sir Randolph is in danger!”

Skoban shouted urgently, but Ghislaine shook his head calmly.

“We’re not going to defend the wall.”

“What?”

Skoban and the soldiers looked shocked and confused.

Ghislaine had insisted on keeping command of his mercenaries in order to provide support where needed. Now, he was refusing to defend the breach, even with the castle under siege?

The soldiers around him began to panic, unsure of what to do. Should they move to defend the breach themselves?

Even the mercenaries exchanged confused glances, wondering what Ghislaine’s plan could be if he wasn’t going to defend the wall.

Just then, Zwalter’s voice rang out again, “Ghislaine! Move now! What are you doing?”

Randolph, fighting at the breach, roared in frustration.

“Ghislaine! You bastard! The enemy is coming! What the hell are you doing?”

The enemy was nearly at the breach now.

Ghislaine, gauging the timing, calmly gave an order to Skoban.

“Open the gate.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Open the gate.”

Skoban recoiled, waving his hands frantically.

“N-no! Lord Ghislaine, what are you talking about? We can’t open the gate!”

“Now is the perfect time.”

“What perfect time? This is madness!”

Skoban tried to stop him, but the mercenaries moved on Ghislaine’s signal. Though they hesitated, they ultimately followed his orders, rushing to raise the portcullis and open the gate.

“No! Stop! We can’t open the gate!”

Skoban frantically tried to intervene, but the mercenaries easily pulled him aside and continued opening the gate.

Rumble!

As the gate slowly opened, the enemy’s central army could be seen in the distance. They hadn’t moved yet, still biding their time.

“Perfect. The conditions are just right,” Ghislaine said with a grin, lowering the visor of his helmet. His helmet, like his armor, was covered in blackened material.

Clank! Clank!

The mercenaries followed suit, lowering their visors.

Though they trusted Ghislaine’s leadership, the mercenaries couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Belinda’s face had gone pale, and beads of sweat dripped down her forehead. Gillian’s expression hardened as well. Only Kaor looked excited, his eyes gleaming like a child about to receive a gift.

From the walls, Zwalter’s voice echoed once again, “Ghislaine! What are you doing? Why haven’t you moved?”

Zwalter, glancing down at the gate, was horrified to see it open, with Ghislaine and his mercenaries ready to march out.

“What… what are you doing? Why did you open the gate?”

The gate was wide open, and Zwalter’s son and his mercenaries were preparing to charge out. Despite his repeated orders to defend the walls, Ghislaine had done the opposite.

“Close the gate! Get to the walls and help defend!”

But no matter how much he yelled, Ghislaine and the mercenaries didn’t move.

“You bastard! This is a direct order from your liege! Help Randolph defend the breach!”

Randolph, too, had spotted the open gate and shouted in shock.

“Ghislaine! You lunatic! Why the hell did you open the gate?”

Ignoring the chaos, Ghislaine crouched low, gripping his massive double-headed axe. Mana surged into his legs, and his voice cut through the tension.

“Skoban, you know what they say?”

Skoban, who looked like he had just lost all hope, answered shakily, “What? That we’re all doomed?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Attack is the best defense.”

“What?”

“When the opportunity comes, don’t hesitate. You have to strike.”

From within Ghislaine’s visor, his eyes glowed a fierce, fiery red.

And then—

Boom!

With a deafening roar, Ghislaine shot forward at an incredible speed.