Chapter 160
The Rebel
Army's Battle ③ - The Desperate
Predicament
Translator : PolterGlast
At the gates on either
end of the town of Teigoon, each was under attack by enemy forces throughout
the night, and the defenders, with their limited and meager forces, were
engaged in a desperate defensive battle.
"Has the dawn
finally broken... The toll on the soldiers' minds and bodies is more severe
than I thought. I'd like to send reinforcements to Claire from here, but at
this rate, there's nothing we can do..."
Christoph muttered,
biting his lip in frustration. The Hiyorimi soldiers had split into small
groups and launched night raids on various parts of the fortress all night
long, forcing them to spend the entire night scrambling to respond.
He and Gale had taken
turns overseeing the defense, but the force protecting the New Checkpoint was
only about 300 strong. With this number, even if everyone was at their post,
they didn't have enough people to defend all the defensive lines on the walls.
The New Checkpoint was
structured as a star fort in the shape of a hexagram, with defensive bases
established on each of the five points, excluding the southern ravelin, which
was closest to Teigoon and served as the main camp.
During the day, they
assigned 50 soldiers to each point, but at night, they had the soldiers rest in
three shifts, with 100 sleeping, eating, and resting at a time. This meant that
even the 50 soldiers from the main camp were all sent out as replacements
during the night.
"We're
struggling, but in terms of the forces she has, Claire is probably struggling
even more. I want to dispatch 50 of our men to the demon territory gate, at
least during the daytime, so they can take turns resting and sleeping. What do
you think, Gale-san?"
"Yeah, you're
right. For us, even sending out fifty men would be a painful loss, but I suppose
we can't afford to say no. After everyone has finished breakfast, let's
dispatch the 50 men stationed in the main camp to the gate on the demon
territory side."
This fortress, with
its high walls and interlocking bastions, was highly defensible, but at night,
its immense size became a disadvantage, and with their current numbers, they
couldn't adequately respond to surprise attacks under the cover of darkness.
During the day,
however, they wouldn't be caught off guard, and if Christoph or Gale supported
the archers and operated them dynamically, they could sufficiently compensate
for their numerical disadvantage.
『I'm sorry... but please wait just a little longer.
We'll send reinforcements so you can catch your breath.
』
They murmured as if in
prayer to Claire, their gazes fixed on the direction of the near yet far gate
on the demon territory side.
※
Meanwhile, at the gate
on the demon territory side, there were those who were gritting their teeth and
fighting defensively, whipping their exhausted bodies as they endured the
endless enemy night raids.
"Hah, hah,
finally... the dawn has broken."
Seeing the morning sun
peek over the mountain ridge in the eastern sky, Claire took a ragged breath.
Blocked by the towering Mount Teigoon, the morning sun would not reach the
western slope until several hours after sunrise.
They had somehow
endured the enemy's pre-dawn attack. But having been under constant assault all
night, not a single person at the demon territory gate had gotten any proper
rest.
Of course, Claire
herself had not had a moment's sleep.
Whipping her body,
already fatigued from the intense work up to this point, she encouraged the
members of the self-defense force and the mercenaries. At times, she created a
wall of fire in front of the gate with her magic, fighting alongside the
soldiers to block the enemy's advance.
It seemed the enemy
army had no real intention of a full-scale assault; the night raids felt more
like provocations than a genuine attack. Nevertheless, the defenders had to
respond with their full strength each time just in case.
These incessant enemy
night raids, which had continued all night long, had severely worn down the
members of the self-defense force, both mentally and physically. They were not,
by nature, mighty warriors who had endured the rigorous training that soldiers
receive.
Perhaps because of
this, many were collapsing not from enemy arrows, but from exhaustion.
"It can't be
helped. They've also been working tirelessly, sacrificing sleep. When the
soldiers were away, they were the ones who supported us, transporting the
infected, guarding the town... they were the ones who stepped up."
She couldn't push them
any further. Realizing they had reached their limit, Claire felt so frustrated
that tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
But somehow, she held
them back.
If her spirit and
Kira's broke, it would all be over. It was no exaggeration to say that this
thought alone was what kept her standing there.
"Now that dawn
has broken, they'll likely push with considerable force. Let's have them take
turns eating and at least let them rest at their respective posts."
She nodded at Kira's
suggestion. But mercilessly, another report came from the lookouts.
"There's new
movement from the enemy! About 300 enemy soldiers are advancing with shields
raised!"
"Good grief, I'm
sure they have no intention of letting us rest... Alright, everyone to your
positions!"
Kira's order flew out.
Many of the Hiyorimi
soldiers moving toward the front of the gate, hidden under a canopy of shields,
were carrying not weapons, but flammable materials like brushwood in one hand.
They ran right up to
the base of the gate's wall, propped the materials against it, and after
setting them all ablaze at once, fled.
The brushwood
instantly burst into a mass of flames and smoke. The smoke rose along the wall,
enveloping the self-defense force members and soldiers standing in the belfry.
"Cough, cough! I
can't... I can't see in front of me!"
"My eyes! I can't
keep my eyes open in this!"
The soldiers on the
wall were choking, and some were having their eyes irritated by the smoke.
Claire, too, watched the scene in a daze from the belfry, feeling not only the
smoke but also the rising heatwave.
At that moment, there
was only one person who sensed the approaching danger.
Through a gap in the
smoke, she confirmed that the enemy soldiers who had fled were now regrouping
and heading back toward them, something in their hands.
"Claire-san,
evacuate! Everyone, hide behind something nearby! Quickly!"
As Kira shouted, many
of the soldiers moved instinctively. But the exhausted Claire was a step
behind.
"Enemy arrows!
Take cover!"
Just as one of the
soldiers yelled, 300 arrows, arcing high, rained down upon their heads.
"Eh? The enemy
has crossbows? Th-that's..."
Muttering up to that
point, Claire felt impacts in several places on her body, and at the same time,
she lost consciousness and collapsed.
Several arrows were
sticking out of the relatively light armor she wore for ease of movement... And
the blood flowing from her began to stain her clothes red.
"Claire-san!"
Kira's scream echoed
across the top of the gate.
"Someone! Get a
Holy Mage, now...!"
Kira shouted, then
realized. There were only two Holy Mages left in Teigoon.
Tiara was at the New
Checkpoint, and Clara was at the town's infirmary. There was no one here.
In the midst of such a
fierce assault, could they even spare the manpower to transport her... Kira was
in a position where she had to make a ruthless decision.
※
Viscount Hiyorimi was
well aware of the adoption of crossbows in the neighboring domain (the Solis
family) and their use on the battlefield. He also knew that, influenced by
this, other domains were adopting the crossbow and it was becoming a valued
weapon.
Given these circumstances,
he had spent several years secretly mass-producing and deploying crossbows.
For this campaign,
every single soldier in Viscount Hiyorimi's army had been equipped with a
crossbow.
Of course, the
soldiers who attacked the demon territory gate of Teigoon were also equipped
with them, and on their commander's orders, they had kept them hidden
throughout the battle until now, firing them all at once.
This series of
movements by the Hiyorimi army was obscured by the smoke from the perspective
of those on the gate wall, and not a single person had nocked an arrow to
return fire.
"Hmph, as if the
crossbow were a weapon exclusive to you. Such arrogance is what leads to your
ruin.
All troops! Prepare a
second and third volley! Mow down the enemy soldiers on the gate!"
Under the command of
Lugner's subordinate, they immediately went on the offensive and charged the
gate.
A rain of arrows
poured down on the gate wall, sticking into surfaces everywhere.
The soldiers and
self-defense force members defending the gate could do nothing more than hide
behind eaves and structures, desperately trying to escape the arrow storm.
"Just one more
push and this gate will fall. At this rate, it won't just be buying time; it
looks like Lord Lugner will receive the honor of breaking through the gate. For
all its fame as impregnable, this gate is more fragile than expected."
The commander leading
the attack was satisfied with the situation, which had proceeded according to
his expectations.
The enemy soldiers on
the gate were too busy dodging the rain of arrows to be able to counterattack
effectively. Seeing this, he moved on to his next move.
"Bring the
battering ram forward!"
Just in case, the
siege weapon they had laboriously brought with them was pushed to the front of
the gate by the soldiers. Before long, the ram began to swing, aiming to smash
down the massive, metal-plated gate.
※
All those defending
the gate, hearing the resounding boom of the battering ram and the ceaseless
rain of arrows, sensed its imminent fall. Among the self-defense force, some
began to cry out in despair.
"Commander, I'm
sorry! It seems we won't be able to fulfill our duty... Claire-san, I'm sorry.
I can't get you to safety now."
Kira apologized in a
small voice, unheard by anyone, to her respected superior and to Claire, who
had received first aid and been carried to the aid station within the gate.
Then, she steeled
herself to carry out a tragic decision.
The final measure
entrusted to her by Takuhir: to seal the gate's passage with giant rocks, to
have all the defenders escape, and to turn the gate itself into a sea of flames
with the rigged oil. She decided to implement it.
Of course, she was
prepared to share the gate's fate... All to buy even a little more time.
"New report from
the watchtower! A change in the demon territory pass!"
At a time like this,
even more enemy reinforcements? Not just Kira, but everyone who heard the
report prepared for the final moment.
"A portion of the
enemy has started fighting amongst themselves! There is a group that is
scattering the enemy soldiers positioned at the exit of the pass, breaking
through at full speed, and heading this way!"
"Are they… reinforcements?"
At the faint,
uncertain glimmer of hope, those who had been looking down in despair turned
their gazes forward again, staring intently into the smoke.
The defensive line of
the demon territory gate had now reached a new turning point.
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