Every pedestrian on the street stopped after hearing the loud sound of the horn. They looked around in confusion, trying to understand what was currently happening.
In the end, no one could answer their unspoken queries.
The people of the city were already familiar with the sound of that horn. In fact, they heard it every single year without exception. What was odd in the current setting was that it was still not time for them to practice the specific drill associated with the horn. That event was still a few months away!
So why were they blowing the horn that signified Magical Beast attacks?
Suddenly, the ground started quaking uncontrollably.
The fruits on the stands fell and rolled on the ground. Some people lost their balance and accidentally stepped on them and their fruit juices spilled all over.
The merchants who sold fragile products desperately held on to his items, trying their best to not let a single one fall and break. Alas, it was an impossible task. As the quaking grew stronger, the store was slowly filled with the sound of glass breaking.
Ironically, the people only woke up from their confusion when most of them were already panicking.
Only then did they realize that it was not a drill.
The streets fell in utter chaos!
The routine they had been practicing for years became absolutely useless.
The ones who stayed at home, instead of heading straight towards the bunker underneath them, were peeking right outside the window, waiting for their loved ones to arrive.
….
Captain Welle Haron stared at the incoming beasts, his face contorted in shock and horror. Although he was a captain, he had never really fought in a battle. He steadily climbed up the ladder by showing that he was a competent leader when training the troops.
Shit! Why did this thing have to happen under my watch?!
Captain Haron cursed his luck. For centuries, humans no longer had to deal with beast hordes. So why were they suddenly back?! It made absolutely no sense! Captain Haron turned around sharply.
The top of the city walls had an extremely wide space. There, several ballistae had already been set, ready to be loaded at any moment.
However, the soldiers who were supposed to be operating them were the ones who weren't ready instead. They stared at the disgustingly large beasts that advanced at an alarming rate. Their legs trembled along with the quaking of the wall.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING?! GET INTO POSITION AND LOAD THE BALLISTAE!" Captain Haron roared in anger.
The soldiers flinched and woke up from their daze.
"Yes, captain!" they all saluted and started moving.
Although they were already panicking, they still displayed a level of discipline expected on any soldier. They divided into groups of four and moved towards the back of the wall together.
Each group pulled on a large lever with great effort. After they successfully switched it on the other end, a section of the floor, just beside the lever, opened.
They walked behind the newly opened hole on the floor and headed towards their respective hand wheels.
As each group turned the wheels, they started hearing the sound of metal grinding against metal below them. The mechanism attached to the wheel had started doing its magic.
Huge metallic arrows emerged from each hole as the soldiers worked. Its body was as thick as a grown man's torso and its tip was extremely sharp.
After completely turning the hand wheel, the platform where the arrow was standing on fully replaced the missing section of the floor. The soldiers then took the arrows towards the ballistae and loaded it.
A person in each group secured the arrow while the others began to adjust the aim using another handwheel. After a few moments, the group indicated that they were ready to fire.
Everything was executed in 15 seconds.
Two broke away from the group. They immediately went to the back and started turning the handwheel backward. The platform where the arrow stood earlier slowly went down, slowly opening a hole once again. The team beneath them would then place the next arrow to be loaded.
Seeing this, Captain Haron was satisfied. At least he found something that could put him slightly at ease. He nodded at the others who remained beside the ballistae and lifted a trembling hand as he waited for the right moment to shoot.
At most, typical and more old-fashioned ballistae, could only shoot at a maximum of 460 meters. And even then, its actual effective combat range was far lower.
However, the ones they developed were made out of much better materials, most of which are magical items. Their thick bowstrings were also conditioned regularly in order to keep them in optimal shape.
The effective combat range of their version is 200 to 800 meters!
When the beasts hit the 750-meter mark, Captain Haron gave the order.
His raised hand fell forward.
"ATTACK!"
Clonk!
The sounds of levers switching overlapped with each other. Then, almost at the same time…
SHUA!
Sixty-four ballistae shot almost simultaneously, their arrows whistling through the air.
The soldiers who operated the weapon were trained to never aim at the same beast. Moreover, the horde of beasts expanded horizontally, enabling them to have more targets.
Each arrow found its own target. A few dozen large beasts fell on the ground, their bodies penetrated by the metallic arrows. However, most of them stood up and continued advancing.
Captain Haron clicked his tongue. Large beasts were really tough to fight.
Right after the first wave of arrows, the troops then began the preparation for the next attack. This time, however, they rushed directly towards the hand wheel.
A rapid shuffling of footsteps entered Captain Haron's ears. Immediately, he looked towards the side and saw a bunch of people in cloak rushing over.
Some of the Military Remorans who were spread out evenly on the other parts of the wall had finally begun to join them. Only the ones closest to the opposite side had yet to arrive.
Just below the walls, outside the city, the Military Serans were also falling into formation. The more experienced ones were placed in the front while the recruits stayed at the back. Weapons in hand and ready to attack.
Finally. Some backup!
Captain Haron was about to sigh in relief when he noticed something odd about the formation. He cocked an eyebrow and swept his gaze all around. What the fuck? Aren't most of these recruits?!
He slapped the corner of the wall in disbelief. He was utterly confused, but he believed that the country would not be so stupid as to sacrifice the new soldiers as fodders. That wouldn't even make any sense!
The loading of the arrows was finally done, but the captain was still staring off into space, grinding his teeth. The foreheads of the soldiers operating the ballistae started to crease. Without command, they couldn't shoot! They could only continue readjusting their aims as time went by.
The captain only realized his error when he felt that the place was too silent. He turned around in panic and immediately gave the signal to attack.
Another wave of arrows rained on the beasts. Unlike the previous one, the range between them and the beasts had already been minimized. The accuracy of their aims significantly increased and many beasts were hit square on their heads.
The soldiers cheered wildly, but after a moment, they realized that the beasts in the front line were already too close. In a few seconds, they would engage with the Serans.
Another captain stepped on top of the wall and immediately assumed command over the Remorans. They were arranged into four neat lines, with seventy people on each line. One after another, from the front towards the back, each line started casting a spell.
"Captain Rose!" Welle Haron greeted the other captain. He felt much more at ease now that another capable person had arrived. Haron immediately felt the need to inform him about the dire situation in the front lines. "How come there are only a few elite soldiers in the forefront? Most of them are recruits!"
Captain Rose spat. "Trust me, I'm just as annoyed and angry as you. You're not aware because you're all the way down here, but something happened in Mt. Eirene. Most of our soldiers—ATTACK!"
Captain Haron subconsciously ducked down as spells shot forward. The first wave of spells came from the first row of Remorans.
Boom boom boom!
The air was filled with the sound of deafening explosions. All of the spells that were recently launched were from Fire Remorans.
Captain Haron looked towards the front, the flames in the battlefield reflected in his eyes.
After the explosions from that wave of attack died down, the second line launched their spells.
The process repeated two more times until the fourth line finished. The attacks fell right after the other, giving the monsters a smaller window of opportunity to catch their breaths and reorganized. After their series of attacks, the number of beasts lessened.
The battlefield became a huge mess. There were flames everywhere. Snow, protruding parts of the ground, blood, organs, limbs…everything! However, with the beasts being spread out, the Remorans could only deal huge damage to one particular part of the enemy's formation.
The specific spot they bombarded was the center. There were still beasts that followed from behind and from the sides.
Below them, the Serans had finally engaged with the beasts.
Captain Rose nodded. "Good! Now, supportive fire!"
The Remorans once again started casting. They could no longer use spells that affected a large area as the Serans had already entered the battle. After a few seconds, they started throwing spells at the backline of the horde.
Earlier, the beasts numbered about 500. After two waves of ballistae attacks and one wave of Remoran siege, their numbers plummeted to something between 380 and 410. With this, the Serans below could fight each large beast, three to one. For each pair, four regular soldiers assisted them, but they were almost completely useless against large beasts.
With this matchup, losses could not be avoided.
Large magical beasts are only a few in number.
But so are mages.
This was the sad reality when humans fought magical beasts.
Captain Haron could not help shaking his head.
"Most of our soldiers were sent towards Mt. Eirene. They are still heading back at the moment," Captain Rose said as he observed the ongoing battle. He was already eager to join the battle, but his status as a Captain forbade him from doing so. After all, his main function was to guide and order his troops.
"Oi oi oi, what's that?!" Captain Haron yelled out of nowhere.
"Is something wrong?!" Captain Rose immediately asked, his gaze sweeping all over the battlefield to figure out what the other captain was talking about. When he found nothing amiss, he cocked an eyebrow and looked towards Haron.
At that moment, he realized that the latter was not looking at the battlefield. Instead, he was looking at the horizon.
Captain Rose also looked forward.
Immediately, he was struck dumb.
He did not want to believe what he was saw.
But he was sure that it was part of reality.
Another horde of beasts was coming.
….