The main force of the Digald army had arrived at Ferdium's fortress.
They positioned themselves, aiming at the southern gate and walls of Ferdium's fortress.
Watching them set up their camp a short distance from the fortress, Zwalter felt a wave of dizziness.
"Can we hold out?"
Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it in person was an entirely different feeling.
Seeing the rows of tents and troops stretching out made his heart grow even heavier.
"No, I have to do this. I have to hold them off, no matter what."
He had to protect not only himself but also the people of the estate.
As Zwalter braced himself once again, the soldiers and knights stationed along the walls swallowed hard, trembling slightly.
"How are we supposed to stop that?"
"We're done for. The gates will be breached in no time."
"They could just rush in, and we'd all be slaughtered."
At this moment, no experience from the Northern front, no camaraderie, no loyalty built over the years could be of any use.
This was the nature of overwhelming force.
Its mere presence could break the enemy's will to fight.
Everyone stood there, tense, watching the enemy, unsure of what to do next.
The Digald forces didn't attack immediately.
After posting sufficient sentries, they began assembling their siege weapons.
Before a day had passed, four massive siege towers and a catapult had been completed.
The soldiers of Ferdium were engulfed in indescribable terror at the sight of their imposing forms.
"Th-That's a siege tower."
"I've never seen one before."
"They're bringing those here? Against these flimsy walls?"
They knew what a siege tower was, but it was their first time seeing one in person.
Seeing the soldiers' unease, Zwalter's expression darkened.
"This is bad. They're frightened before the battle has even started."
The mere sight of those massive siege towers was enough to sap the will of the Ferdium forces.
In stark contrast, Tamos wore a very satisfied smile.
"So it was true that the Count of Ferdium only cared about the Northern Fortress. It's in even worse shape than ours, isn't it?"
Though Viktor had told him not to worry, people's hearts don't always follow their commands.
Tamos, naturally timid, hoped the war wouldn't drag on.
Given the huge difference in troop strength, he preferred to crush them in one swift attack.
"This fortress is so pathetic. Hahaha! This is good news. Very good news. At this rate, we'll finish this quickly, don't you think?"
Viktor only glanced at him sideways without much reaction, but Tamos didn't mind and continued laughing and chattering to himself.
Once the troop formations were complete, a knight approached Viktor to report.
"Preparations for the advance are complete."
"Start with the catapult."
As Viktor raised his hand, the catapult on the left began launching massive boulders.
Due to a shortage of stones, they had to use just one catapult, but that was more than enough.
Boom! Boom!
"Aaagh! Take cover!"
The soldiers of Ferdium, caught off guard by the sudden attack, hurriedly scrambled for cover.
Usually, before a battle, a messenger would come forward to demand an "honorable surrender."
But the enemy had started attacking without any such gesture.
Their intent to annihilate everything was painfully clear.
Swinging his sword, Zwalter shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone, take cover!"
Since the enemy forces hadn't moved, there was no opportunity to retaliate.
Fortunately, the catapult was slow to reload and difficult to aim, making it easier to evade.
Boom! Crash!
As he watched sections of the wall begin to crumble, Zwalter bit his lip.
"If only we had a catapult, we could fight back."
The enemy seemed certain there was no catapult here, showing no sign of preparing for one.
"Those traitors must have told them."
Boom! Crash!
Then, the catapult attacks suddenly ceased—their stone ammunition had run out.
Yet, even this brief assault had left Ferdium's walls nearly destroyed.
Seeing the devastation, Viktor smirked, lifting one side of his mouth.
"A good start."
The rubble piled up so high that it looked as if they could climb it without a ladder.
As Viktor raised his hand, the soldiers finally began to advance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by the pounding of enormous war drums, Digald's forces moved in perfect synchrony.
"Prepare yourselves! The enemy is advancing!"
At Zwalter's shout, the soldiers began trembling as they readied themselves for battle.
The sight of the approaching soldiers in formation alone brought immense pressure.
And to make matters worse, their numbers were overwhelmingly larger.
"It's all right! We can hold them off! We'll fight using the walls to our advantage!"
Zwalter shouted nonstop, rallying the soldiers.
Though their hands shook so badly they could barely grip their weapons, they somehow managed to calm themselves in response to their lord's rallying cries.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The enemy's central force halted at a certain distance.
Instead, two siege towers on either flank started moving forward.
As the siege towers approached, Zwalter shouted.
"Fire!"
Whoosh!
Countless flaming arrows flew toward the siege towers, embedding themselves in the wood.
However, the towers, coated in leather and soaked with water, didn't catch fire easily.
To burn something that massive, they'd need to douse the entire tower in oil, and Ferdium didn't have that much oil to spare.
Moreover, the enemy wasn't simply going to watch Ferdium's attacks without retaliation.
Shhh!
Archers, protected by shield-bearers, moved forward, and soon an overwhelming volley of arrows flew toward the wall.
"Aaagh!"
"Get down!"
"Stay close to the wall and fire back!"
A few soldiers were struck by the arrows and collapsed. The remaining soldiers did their best to lower themselves and return fire.
But with such a vast disparity in numbers, all they could manage was a feeble attempt at holding them back with a few arrows.
Meanwhile, the siege towers reached the wall, each attaching to a side.
Thud! Thud!
Drawbridges descended from the towers, bridging onto the wall, and a horde of enemies began pouring out from within like madmen.
"Hold them back! Randolph, head to the other side!"
Zwalter and Randolph split up and began directing the soldiers on the ramparts, fighting as they went.
"Waaahhhh!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A chaotic skirmish broke out atop the narrow ramparts, where it was difficult to even swing a sword properly.
"Hold the line!"
Zwalter and Randolph somehow managed to find gaps, cutting down enemies as they pushed forward.
Despite being at a disadvantage, they directed the soldiers with seamless coordination.
Their individual strength was formidable, and even though the Digald side kept sending reinforcements, they managed to hold the ramparts without giving any ground.
Watching this from a distance, Viktor's eyes sparkled with interest.
"They're impressive. Such talent would be wasted, rotting away here."
Standing beside him, Tamos grew impatient and urged him on.
"Why don't we just lead the knights and break down the gate? That would be faster, wouldn't it?"
Viktor looked down at him, not bothering to hide his disdain.
To break down the gate, they'd have to concentrate their forces in one place.
They already had troops on the ramparts, so there was no need to assault another area.
Besides, sending knights just to open the gate was absurd.
Knights were a precious resource. Even if hundreds of soldiers perished, it was better to save a single knight.
"If the gate is breached now, the enemy will abandon the ramparts and gather at the gate."
"Then we just have to push through, don't we?"
"The interior of Ferdium Fortress is quite narrow. Even if we push in, there's a limit to how many can enter at once. We'd end up having to send our forces in gradually."
Gradual deployment involved sending in units bit by bit.
Fighting that way could wear the enemy down, but considering they had competent commanders on their side, they might end up fighting at the gate for days if luck wasn't on their side.
Pointing to the ramparts once more, Viktor explained.
"The same goes for the ramparts, but if we create multiple paths, we can scatter the enemy and defeat them one by one. We have far superior numbers. We need to leverage our advantage and minimize our losses."
Though Viktor patiently explained, Tamos still didn't grasp it and asked again.
"Really? So, does that mean we'll be done by today?"
'Should I just kill him now?'
A murderous intent began to well up in Viktor.
Tamos was going to die sooner or later, and with the war about to end, killing him now wouldn't be an issue.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Viktor let out a long sigh.
Digald's knights and soldiers were still standing beside Count Digald.
Killing them, no matter how many, wouldn't be difficult. However, there was no need to stir up trouble in the rear and bolster the enemy's morale unnecessarily.
"When forces clash in such tight spaces, it inevitably takes time to determine the victor."
Tamos didn't understand half of what Viktor had said, but seeing Viktor's displeased expression, he simply nodded.
Just as Viktor described, Ferdium was stuck in a dilemma.
Failing to hold the walls was essentially a defeat.
If they were forced to retreat while fighting enemies who'd already breached the walls, they'd be surrounded.
But there were far too many enemies to defend the entire length of the walls effectively.
Although Zwalter and Randolph were putting up a fierce fight, the Ferdium troops were growing weary as they continued to fend off the seemingly endless waves of attackers.
'We have to hold on, no matter what!'
Zwalter gritted his teeth. He had to kill as many enemies as possible before his soldiers wore out.
Watching the brief lull on the walls, Viktor smiled.
"Deploy troops to the collapsed section of the wall. Divide the forces at the walls and the gate. Once you secure the area, just hold your position."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of drums and trumpets echoed again as the central troops began advancing.
Their target was the section of the wall that had been demolished by the catapults.
As more enemies poured in, Zwalter grew desperate.
He was struggling to fend off the attackers flooding in from the siege tower, and now he lacked enough troops to cover the crumbling wall.
'Randolph can't handle all of that on his own! There are too few soldiers on the wall!'
The enemy's central forces and rear cavalry, aiming for the gate, had yet to move.
He could clearly see their intent to spread out his forces, but there was no choice—he had to defend the breach.
If the broken wall were overrun, it would serve as an entry point for the enemy.
In a panic, Zwalter shouted,
"Ghislain! Hold the broken wall!"
Ghislain was waiting inside the gate with a group of mercenaries.
They were all heavily armed, clad in black helmets and armor, with something carefully affixed over their armor.
Near the gate's mechanism, Skovan and the Forest of Beasts Guard were gathered.
"Young Lord! The Lord has given the order! You must go and provide support. The Knight Commander is in danger!"
Skovan shouted urgently, but Ghislain shook his head.
"We're not here to defend the wall."
"What?"
Skovan and the soldiers looked bewildered.
Ghislain had taken control of the mercenaries with the intention of supporting the most vulnerable area.
But now, with this decision not to defend the wall, what were they supposed to do?
Skovan and the soldiers began to waver, uncertain and restless.
It looked like they were contemplating whether they should head out to provide support themselves.
The mercenaries, too, cast puzzled looks at Ghislain. If they weren't going to defend the wall, what exactly were they supposed to be doing?
At that moment, Zwalter's shout echoed again.
"Ghislain! Move! What are you waiting for?"
Randolph also bellowed as if in a rage.
"Young Lord! You bastard, what are you doing! The enemies are coming!"
The enemies had already drawn close to the collapsed wall.
Ghislain judged the timing and gave Skovan an order.
"Open it."
"What? Open what?"
"The gate."
Skovan flailed his hands in shock.
"N-no! Young Lord! What are you talking about? Why open the gate?!"
"Now is a perfect opportunity."
"Opportunity for what? That's nonsense! Don't be ridiculous!"
Seeing that Skovan seemed unwilling to obey, Ghislain nodded toward the nearby mercenaries.
The mercenaries hesitated for a moment, but then proceeded as instructed.
At their employer's command, they rushed over, pulled up the portcullis, and began to open the gate.
"No, you can't! You can't open the gate!"
Skovan scrambled to stop them, but the mercenaries seized him and dragged him back.
Rumble!
Through the slowly opening gate, the enemy's central forces came into view in the distance.
They remained utterly still, appearing calm and unhurried.
"This really is an ideal situation to make a move."
Clank!
Ghislain grinned and lowered the visor of his helmet.
His helmet, too, was covered with something black and meticulously layered.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The mercenaries followed suit, lowering their visors to cover their faces.
They were ready, but a sense of unease began to spread among them.
Belinda's face turned pale as she started to break into a cold sweat, and Gillian's expression hardened.
Only Kaor's eyes sparkled like a child's, eager for a gift.
Just then, Zwalter shouted again.
"Ghislain! What are you doing? Why aren't you moving yet?"
He brushed off the attackers, quickly looking down toward the gate, then stammered in disbelief.
"Y-you! What, what are you doing? Why is the gate open?!"
The gate stood wide open, with his son and the mercenaries ready to charge out.
He had explicitly ordered him to follow command multiple times!
"Close it! Close the gate and get back to the wall!"
No matter how loudly Zwalter shouted, Ghislain and the mercenaries showed no response.
"You fool! This is an order from your lord! Hurry and assist Randolph in defending the wall!"
Randolph also glanced down, stunned by the scene below, and bellowed in horror.
"Young Lord! Why did you open the gate, you madman!"
Ghislain pretended not to hear their shouting and slowly lowered his body.
With a massive two-handed axe in his grasp, he gathered mana into his legs and spoke.
"Defending the wall… Skovan, do you know something?"
Skovan, looking like a man who'd lost everything, replied,
"Know what? That we're all doomed?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"That the best defense is a good offense."
"Pardon?"
"When the opportunity comes, don't hesitate. Move forward."
A red light flickered within his helmet.
Then—
Boom!
Ghislain shot forward with incredible speed.