Chapter 959 The Siege
We waited within the castle walls for a while and established a surveillance point at its highest vantage point. We harnessed Sora's exceptional ability to see long distances from our location and leveraged Avos's skills to enhance our vision beyond the range of our natural eyesight. Since it was nighttime, it was safer to remain indoors rather than expose ourselves outside. According to Renatta, there might be a few beastmen with the ability to camouflage themselves in the darkness or skilled hunters who excel during nighttime. It was possible that some stealthy beastmen could sneak in the dark and remain hidden, potentially ambushing us. Thus, it made more sense to shelter inside and wait for an attack, instead of braving the cold and remaining exposed.
However, even before the war had officially begun, conflicts had already arisen within our group. Renatta and Izmir were clearly not on good terms, especially Renatta, who openly displayed her hostility towards her sister. In contrast, Izmir remained composed and did not back down, despite Renatta's obvious resentment.
"Why the sudden change? You sounded prouder and more arrogant before, so seeing you like this now makes me uncertain about why you seem to have changed," Mila asked as she sat beside Izmir.
"I...I don't know. I just woke up one day and realized that everything I had been doing was wrong. I know I am in the wrong, which is why I want to fix it before it's too late."
"So your first attempt is to help defend the kingdom from the threat? How noble of you," Renatta commented with a sarcastic tone as she spoke to Izmir.
"No, my primary goal is to ask for forgiveness from you, Sister. Defending the kingdom became a secondary issue that was added to my list after discovering the threat. I know it won't be easy, but I want to ask for forgiveness..." Izmir calmly stated.
"..." Renatta said nothing and only sighed deeply as she gazed into the horizon.
As for me, I discreetly stole a glance at Izmir. Thankfully, my gaze could be concealed by the mask I was wearing, but I was trying to ascertain her sincerity. Perhaps she was, or perhaps she wasn't. However, after the incident involving her relinquishing the weapon of lust, this could be one of the outcomes. It was still too early to pass judgment, so I decided to withhold my assessment until later.
Just then, Sora, who was responsible for using her abilities to see into the distance, reported to us.
"It looks like they're on the move, folks. Get ready, a battle is imminent."
We stood up from our seats upon hearing that. This indicates that the battle will soon take a turn for the absurd. We were still in the midst of preparing when all of a sudden...
BOOOM! BOOOOM!
Multiple explosions rocked the walls of the castle, and the force was so powerful that we nearly tumbled to the ground the moment the explosions occurred.
"Looks like they've employed catapults or cannons to make a grand entrance," Labo said as he prepared his bow and arrow.
"Let's move out!"
Before we officially set out, I tossed a small package in Izmir's direction, which she deftly caught.
"Huh?" Izmir looked puzzled.
"It's a potion ration for you. Since you mentioned you'd be joining us, consider these as your emergency supplies. We're bound to get wounded or run low on mana out there," I explained.
Before she could respond, I joined the others, and we prepared ourselves for battle. With the enemy appearing in such large numbers this time, there was no longer any room for non-lethal tactics. We had to adopt a more aggressive and lethal approach this time around.
As the enemy's massive siege equipment relentlessly bombarded the castle, the urgency of the situation couldn't be clearer. With a quick transformation of my Versatile Weapon into a formidable cannon, I secured a skill from the [Cannoneer] class: [Rapid Barrage of Iron Balls]. This choice was driven by the inadequacy of a standard [Grapeshot] against the hulking behemoths of siege equipment they fielded.
"[FIRE]!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The cannon roared to life, unleashing deafening explosions, as a relentless stream of cannonballs shot into the sky, targeting the oncoming attackers. This rapid, simultaneous fire meant there was no hope for anyone caught within the blast radius.
As I felt the fierce recoil of the cannon and the thunderous echoes reverberating through the battlefield, my heart raced. The stakes were high, and seeing how the cannon barrage decimated the enemies, the determination of everyone to defend the castle burned brighter than ever. Each cannonball unleashed was a testament to our resolve, and in the face of the enemy's relentless assault, I knew we would stand strong if we continued to keep at it.
I can hear in the distance the screams of the dying Beastmen as they are struck by the cannon's blast. This is enough to prompt everyone to rush to the defense of the castle as soon as the Beastmen begin their charge.
Renatta transformed into her Enhanced Bear form and commenced demolishing every Beastman that attacked. While the Beastmen possess innate strength due to their race, Renatta wields significantly greater raw firepower and a level advantage. Even though her adversaries are inherently robust, they are still no match for her, as she has surpassed them in terms of levels alone.
Alena and Labo excel at their job, executing it with remarkable precision. They consistently unleash a barrage of rapid arrows, exhibiting a level of accuracy that surpasses that of a sniper rifle, even when targeting foes miles away.
Pandora, on the other hand, is employing her signature golden chains to great effect. In an impressive display of her abilities, she has incorporated the [Holy Sword Rain] technique into her arsenal, periodically summoning torrents of gleaming golden swords crafted from mana. This strategic move allows her to swiftly eliminate multiple beastmen simultaneously.
Sora and Akira are also proving to be formidable in their roles. Akira valiantly draws the attention of all attacks directed towards his sister, displaying unwavering courage in his protective stance. Meanwhile, Sora unleashes a relentless onslaught of spells, wreaking havoc upon any enemies that dare to approach, leaving devastation in their wake.
Izmir was not slouching either. With a few graceful waves of her hands, multiple icicle spikes materialized in thin air, and she launched them with rapid intensity. Every unfortunate beastman who encountered Izmir found themselves immediately impaled by the icy spikes.
Avos maintained a relentless spellcasting barrage, continuously decimating the group of beastmen attacking him. His face bore an unmistakable expression of delight as he effortlessly crushed the beastmen into the ground.
Mila, too, relished the battle. Not only were her strikes significantly more powerful, but she moved with a newfound agility. She effortlessly dispatched beastmen, no longer hindered by them as she had been in her previous encounters where she came close to defeat.
But, as usual, despite my efforts to eliminate them all, they proved to be more resilient than expected. Although I had successfully thwarted several attempts to breach the castle with their siege equipment, I had vastly underestimated the quantity of siege machinery they had brought with them. The relentless barrage of attacks eventually led to the castle walls collapsing and turning into rubble.
"SH*T! THE WALLS ARE DOWN!" Avos shouted, quickly retreating and hastily erecting a makeshift barrier.
The beastmen, who appeared to be lycanthropes, began transforming into their beastly forms and charged inside at an alarming speed. Dealing with them individually would be a time-consuming challenge. Instead of doing so, I converted my Versatile Weapon into its magic sword form and activated one of my Magic Knight's skills, specifically [Earthquake], a tier 5 ability that had evolved from the combination of [Earth Fissure] and [Earth Splitter].
The sudden tremor in the ground using my skill was enough for the beastmen to start tumbling down as they struggled to recover. Seeing the opportunity for both Alena and Labo, they aimed and fired their bows and arrows to swiftly defeat the beastmen who had transformed into beasts who were slumped from the previous tremors.
However, this method wasn't efficient enough. Despite our best efforts, the beastmen easily tore down the remaining defenses and began to disregard our presence as they made their way inside.
"NO!" Avos couldn't completely contain all of them.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, I decided to deploy both Lina and Tina.
"Lina, Tina, do whatever it takes to eliminate the attacking beastmen. Protect the elves who might get caught in the crossfire. This time, focus on eradicating the beastmen as a top priority."
"Roger that!" Lina nodded, offering a salute.
"What about the civilians who might be caught in the crossfire?" Tina inquired.
"If possible, keep them out of harm's way, but don't let it slow you down in dealing with the primary threat. Eliminate the beastmen first, as they can cause more casualties if left unchecked, while others can attend to the civilians in need."
Tina nodded, and the two of them headed inside, their mission to clean up the invaders who had decided to enter and disrupt the situation.
"The enemies are getting closer. We need to prevent more of the beastmen from getting in!"
Izmir had just arrived and, upon seeing her grandfather struggling to maintain the barrier, she decided to help. Using her unique ability, she conjured a massive ice wall that swiftly froze up the damaged section, effectively sealing off the area once again.
"Izmir!" Avos hadn't anticipated her quick response.
"Don't worry about me, Grandpa. Focus on recovering your mana, and I'll assist in holding back the enemies."
Avos nodded and swiftly pulled out a mana potion, downing it in one gulp.
"Now that the defense is restored, I'll personally take care of those siege weapons before they can wreak any more havoc."
I dashed back to the battlefield. Realizing that my Versatile Weapon's cannon form was too slow to deal with all the threats, I decided it was time to enlist the help of my trusty pet.
"MIZUCHI!"
Mizuchi, whom I had rarely called upon for assistance before, aside from leveling up, eagerly emerged from the Summon's Area with an excited hiss.
"Time to unleash some mayhem, Mizuchi."
I mounted Mizuchi's back, ready for a spectacular comeback.
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