We stepped out into the courtyard, drawing the attention of the residents with our appearance.
"Everyone, please seek shelter in your homes. It will soon become unsafe here," Yuki's serious tone caught the attention of the gathered people, and they obediently began to disperse. "What now?" someone asked.
"Now, the battle begins," I said, squinting through the gap between the ceiling and the gates. In the night sky, a large object gleamed, flying straight towards the central building. "Can you stop that, Kat?"
"Easy!" The princess released an impressive lightning bolt, and the projectile crashed right into the ground in front of us. It was a huge arrow, about two meters long.
"It seems they have siege machines," I remarked. "Grain, how many of them are there approximately?"
The mage listened for a moment to the vibrations in the earth. "Almost ten thousand. Quite a lot to deal with for a small group of fugitives."
"I remember the Baron wanted to send his people for training. And there's nothing better than live targets. Rizel, take position above the main gate. Try to cover the entire space over the gates with a barrier, don't let their arrows get inside."
"It will be very difficult!" Rizel exclaimed.
"Katrina, go with her and stop the large projectiles."
At that moment, a new hail of arrows rained down on the fortress. Over five hundred shots hit the fortress. The walls and ceiling made it challenging to aim precisely, but those that managed to get through were enough to kill the defenders of the fortress. Rizel waved her staff, and an invisible wall swept away all the projectiles. Then two enormous arrows and a catapult projectile came flying. The girls knocked down the arrows in mid-air, and Grain turned the catapult projectile into dust with a single strike.
"Darn, they have a lot of siege weapons. Grain, can you find their exact locations?"
"Yes," the mage listened to the ground again. "There are three groups, each with three weapons, about two kilometers from here on small elevations, most likely artificial. And there's another group of people gathered behind all the weapons, five kilometers from here."
Now it all made sense. It explained how they could conduct bombardments in such a dense forest. But what was the point of firing from catapults when most of the projectiles would simply crash against the cliff's edge? The group behind was probably their headquarters, and if luck was on our side, the Baron might be there.
"Alright, Miriam, I need you to destroy them. I hope you can handle it," I patted the girl on the shoulder and nudged her in the right direction.
"Are you crazy?!" The archer was not pleased with my proposal. "Two kilometers, even if I miraculously manage to hit them from such a distance, how am I supposed to destroy them?"
"Hmm, you could use some help," I turned to Leira. "Liri, you can assist her with that."
"Hmm, well, I can create a wind lens to help her aim better and enhance the arrow with magic," Liri suggested.
"And also, you can charge it with lightning to give the arrows enough destructive power," I added.
"Now, that seems quite achievable," Miriam smiled and rushed up the wall with her partner.
"I could erect a wall in front of the trench, and then their shots wouldn't pose a threat to us," Grain offered his help, but it was too impulsive.
"If you do that, they will try to collapse the ceiling on us. That's when they use the catapults. First, we must destroy the siege weapons. Then they'll have no choice but to engage in open combat. That's where your skills will come in handy," I explained.
"But it's strange. I thought most of the siege weapons were destroyed during the civil war ten years ago," Yuki joined the conversation. "The Baron couldn't have created so many weapons in such a short time."
"And he didn't make them," Seleria stroked the small symbol on the tip of the first arrow that fell in the center of the square. Two crossed daggers. "He took them from mercenaries. Even for a province as large as yours, hiring ten thousand soldiers would have been a problem. But calling mercenaries, for example, with money stolen from the royal tax collector."
"Heh, then we have no doubts. We need to punish the Baron for his crimes," Katrina made a triumphant gesture but then pondered and turned to me again. "Do you have any ideas on how to do it?"
"Of course, I do. We just need to meet him in person. You, me, Asura, Werner, Aileen, and Ragni will go to him. The rest will defend the fortress."
"I'll go too," Seleria added. "I know these mercenaries and can secure their support to halt the attack."
"That's good, but besides two thousand archers, there are also about five thousand soldiers in decent armor," Grain gave me a skeptical look. "You don't expect me to dig a tunnel for you there, do you?"
"Don't worry. We won't be walking on the ground; we'll go through the air. Hopefully, the elders will assist us in this matter," I looked towards Sheraza, who was sitting aside.
"Huh? To transport you to the enemy's rear... Well, I could do that, but can I join the battle? I would be of great help to you, even though I can't contend with such an army."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I want you to do something else for us. I hope they haven't flown too far yet," I quietly instructed the Queen. "Kurone, keep an eye on the enemy's movements, especially if they decide to flank us."
"Don't worry; no one will pass by me."
"Yuki, have your people take positions on the walls and start firing at the Baron's troops when they engage in open combat. But avoid close combat; my comrades will handle that."
"Alright, I hope you know what you're doing," Yuki replied.
We gathered in the center of the square. As soon as the girls destroy all the siege weapons, the enemies will be in disarray, and we'll have a chance to escape.
Miriam fully drew her bow. To destroy the enemy weapons in one go, she horizontally positioned several arrows. The wind lens allowed her to see the targets for kilometers around, and she had a clear view. Five weapons on each side and seven in the center.
Leira sent a lightning charge along the mithril base of her bow. The gloves borrowed from her sister protected the archer from discharges, and she could focus on the shot without fear.
"Take a deep breath and visualize the trajectory of the shot," closing her eyes, the girl prepared for the attack. Rizel had already repelled three volleys of arrows, and she could use some help; we had to hurry. "Due to acceleration, the path will be more direct, and the wind correction will decrease. One shot should hit all targets; otherwise, they'll retaliate before we can raise the barrier again."
"I'm ready!" At Miriam's command, Rizel removed her defense, and five thin lightning trails illuminated the evening sky. These were the traces left by charged arrows. Their impact was so powerful that it toppled the weapons, leaving no chance for repair. Rizel immediately raised the barrier, and the girls prepared for the second salvo.
Two more enemy attacks weakened the necromancer as the arrows were being recharged for a new attack.
The second volley also smoothly took out the right weapons, leaving only the central ones, but I doubted that everything would go so smoothly with them.
"Get ready. As soon as the salvo passes, Sheraza will fly us to the enemy's rear," the Queen spread her wings and transformed her arms into huge paws, preparing for departure.
The girls prepared for the final salvo, and the necromancer removed her defense. Seven trails lit up the darkness, and at that moment, the red dragoness soared into the air, carrying us above the forest with soldiers scrambling below. Either they were stunned by the appearance of the dragon or had heard about the agreement between the Baron and Ultras, but none of the archers dared to shoot at us. Once we were behind their main forces, the dragoness dropped us and flew south.
The branches softened our landing, but before touching the ground, I noticed something huge flying over the forest towards the fortress. The steel tip was darkened to make it invisible in the night, but it was definitely a ballista projectile.
"Rizel, Leira, a massive projectile from the last weapon is approaching you. Defend the fortress!"
"Damn, we're trying!" judging by their response, the girls were facing a tough challenge.
The enemy had calculated that the defense was down only during the moment of the shot and waited for the right moment to attack. As soon as Rizel lowered the barrier, a hail of arrows covered the fortress. Leira used all her strength to deflect the steel tips, and the arrows peppered the ground in front of the walls, but she couldn't handle such a massive projectile.
"I'll try to stop it!" Grain lifted a huge boulder and threw it towards the projectile's trajectory. The path shifted, but the arrow hit its mark, piercing through the center of the wall and wrecking the lifting mechanism. The wooden bridge collapsed over the trench, and the last line of defense was breached.
"Well, you missed your chance; now you'll have to fight them in hand-to-hand combat. Levris, I hope you've done everything I asked?"
"Yes, everything is ready."
"Then go out into the field and fight them hand-to-hand; the shinobi will cover you."