Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 81

How blissful it would have been if they could have started anew the next day. About two hours had passed, and the offensive was about to resume again.

“Get into position! The enemy is coming!”

While the enemy completed their reorganization and shield repairs, the defenders were not idle either. They not only repaired the walls but also sent a portion of their troops over the walls to collect arrows and stones.

“If you don’t want a spear in your back, get back inside the walls!”

Soldiers rushed to the ropes and ladders that were lowered from the walls to avoid being left behind.

“Calm down, they’re still at a distance.”

The counterattack from the support castle had inflicted significant losses on the attackers. It would be disadvantageous for the Meizenaf forces to advance recklessly.

Peeking over the rope ladder was Kuwen, followed by Karim. Their back baskets were haphazardly filled with arrows and pebbles.

The arrowheads were covered in bits of flesh, literally used items pulled from corpses. The archers dug into the baskets to retrieve the arrows.

Breathless from their collection efforts, the two looked pale. Walm was about to say something, but noticed longswords hanging from their waists, which hadn’t been there before they descended the wall. They must have also collected spoils amidst their retrieval efforts. The two were doing their best to get used to the battlefield. Many words were unnecessary.

“You found some good swords.”

The two blushed like boys caught in mischief.

“Hehehe.”

“We picked them up.”

The attackers’ tactics hadn’t changed much from the first wave, but now the previously stationary siege towers were finally brought into play. They were hauled closer by numerous soldiers pulling on the coarse ropes attached to their bases.

Annoying archers, skilled ones at that, began raining arrows from the corner towers. If skill levels were matched, the difference in height and the presence of obstructions became decisive. Walm, one of many who could twist physical phenomena, benefitted from gravitational potential energy. Arrows arced towards the siege towers, but those reaching the crowded upper levels were already losing momentum.

Regrettably, Walm, who intermittently cast fireballs, seemed to have been designated the primary target. Every time he showed his face to launch a fireball, arrows would invariably fly his way.

“So annoying.”

Unable to destroy them from outside the range of his magic, the siege towers continued to rain down arrows. It was clear that the attackers had learned from the first assault and were now familiar with the range and habits of the defense. The movement of the troops was significantly slower than during the first wave.

A defending soldier beating down spears from the wall took an arrow to the throat and struggled in agony on the ground. Another soldier filled the gap, but having witnessed his predecessor’s fate, he was too preoccupied with the sky and was speared through the eye socket from below.

Meanwhile, Karim fearlessly continued hurling stones at the enemy soldiers below. A fist-sized rock sunk into an enemy’s head, sending him tumbling down the slope into the ditch. A subtle smile appeared on the boy’s face as the enemy ranks thinned. Walm, searching for targets for his fireballs, grabbed Karim’s armor and pulled him back just as an arrow whizzed past where Karim’s head had been moments earlier.

“E-ehhh?”

Realizing what had happened, Karim alternated his gaze between the arrow and Walm.

“It’s good to keep your pace but keep a wider view. You’ll die young otherwise.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Kuwen, on the other hand, reacted sharply to the arrows, but his throws lacked power. The two, opposites in appearance and behavior, might live longer on the battlefield if they supported each other.

Walm’s gaze caught a group hoisting round shields and climbing the slope at the edge of his magic range. They were audacious but made for easy targets. Walm prepared to counterattack, but then noticed a soldier at the edge of his vision.

Reflexively, Walm lifted his left arm, holding the shield, to cover his head. An arrow struck with a high-pitched sound, just barely deflecting off his arm.

“A feint, huh? Not bad.”

Not only the archers in the siege tower, but also hidden bowmen behind the shields were lying in wait to attack Walm.

“You’re being targeted!”

As Walm made eye contact, the archer’s face tensed and he flipped behind his shield. Walm responded with a fireball, blowing away half of the shield and scattering debris.

The hidden soldier was injured but avoided fatal wounds. Walm considered a follow-up attack, but with blood leaking from his shoulder and his bow shattered, the threat seemed reduced.

Walm’s interest shifted back to the group he had noticed earlier. They had managed to cling to the wall, but an explosion of miscellaneous magic had decimated more than half of them, leaving behind only mangled bodies with severed limbs and crushed heads.

“I overdid it.”

Walm realized his comrade’s mistake. The result was sufficient, but the problem was creating a depression in the slope, which could now serve as a foothold for climbers. Piled with the surrounding corpses, it could even serve as a makeshift barricade. Bodies, heavy with moisture and armor, would provide defense comparable to sandbags.

Naturally, soldiers on the brink of death would use whatever they could. A few made their way into this newfound safe zone.

In the second assault, there was a certain number of quick-witted individuals among both the soldiers and the civilians. If they survived, they would become troublesome enemies. Despite suffering significant losses, the offensive showed no sign of stopping. This was undoubtedly the critical moment.

Translator – Lyxxna