The Second Assault

At first light, more than two thousand Gnolls finished the remaining meat and assembled into formation amid the bellowed orders of their clan chiefs.

Rogus rode on the back of a Gnoll while two sturdy Gnolls beside him carried his flail, serving as a temporary weapon rack.

"Commander, the troops have assembled and await your orders," a Gnoll clan chief stepped forward and said respectfully.

When sunlight shone upon the castle's Outer City Wall, Rogus dismounted, picked up his weapon, and loudly commanded, "Attack."

More than two thousand Gnolls howled as they surged toward the castle like a tide.

Rogus carried his flail and followed behind the troops, ready to enter the battle himself.

The other Silver Rank Gnoll warriors hid among the ranks, intending to catch their enemies off guard once they began climbing the walls.

Just like yesterday, the Three-Bow Ballista was the first to unleash its might, iron arrows shooting toward the Gnolls one after another.

"Whoosh—"

An iron arrow streaked past Rogus, piercing through the two guards following behind him.

"Danger. Spread out."

The other Gnoll guards immediately scattered, no longer surrounding Rogus.

The distance of barely two kilometers was crossed in five minutes, at the cost of more than a hundred Gnoll lives, and they successfully reached the Outer City Wall.

The next moment, some Gnolls threw stones and weapons to disrupt the defenders atop the wall, while others began climbing it.

Before long, the battle reached a fever pitch. Blood splattered, screams and wails rang out, and the clash of weapons filled the entire stretch of the Outer City Wall.

Quite a few Silver-grade Gnolls broke through the wall and inflicted tremendous casualties on the defending soldiers, but they were quickly stopped by the Silver Knights.

Rogus blended into the crowd, his gaze fixed tightly on the young human noble atop the castle.

With his keen senses, he knew that the most threatening and highest-ranking person in this castle had to be that young human.

As long as he killed him, taking this castle would be effortless.

"Chief."

A Gnoll carrying a bloodstained iron arrow came before Rogus and respectfully handed it to him.

Rogus weighed the iron arrow in his hand, waiting for the right moment.

The next instant, he exerted his strength and hurled it toward the human noble atop the castle.

Velin, standing with his sword planted before him, watched the iron arrow flying toward him. He drew his sword and cut it apart, then looked toward Rogus hidden among the attacking Gnolls.

Man and wolf stared at each other, each understanding the other's intentions.

"Roar—"

Now that he had been discovered, Rogus no longer hid. Using the climbing Gnolls as footholds, he scaled the wall in a few swift movements. Swinging his flail, he smashed more than a dozen soldiers off the wall, their fate unknown.

Velin stared sharply at Rogus, then leaped down from the platform and landed steadily atop the Outer City Wall.

"Human, today, you die, I live."

Rogus watched Velin warily, his tone grave.

"Then let's see who dies and who lives."

Velin studied the enemy before him seriously. He was very powerful, but Velin could handle him.

The Knight Longsword and flail collided again and again, as did the Battle Qi of their wielders. Azure-green light and blazing crimson flames clashed against each other, wreaking tremendous damage upon the wall's battlements.

Before they knew it, more than ten minutes had passed. Man and wolf remained locked in stalemate, neither able to do anything to the other.

At some point, Orlando had arrived beside them. While Rogus was fully focused on the fight, Orlando attacked from the flank.

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"Splurt—"

An arm flew high into the air before falling onto the wall.

"Argh—"

"Despicable humans."

Rogus clutched his severed arm and roared furiously.

"Any means may be used against monsters," Velin said without the slightest change in expression, preparing to completely take down this Gnoll and end the unrest.

Seeing the two Silver Knights closing in from both sides, Rogus unhesitatingly jumped from the wall and ordered his guards to hold off the pursuers.

Seeing this, Velin jumped down after him, with Orlando following close behind.

Several dozen tall Gnolls formed a simple formation, blocking the path between the fleeing Rogus and Velin.

"Kill them."

Most of these Gnolls were Bronze Low-Tier or mid-tier. Against two Silver Knights, Velin and Orlando, they were utterly no match.

In less than ten minutes, they were all slain.

However, this bought Rogus enough time to escape.

Not long afterward, the attacking Gnolls heard the signal to retreat. Dragging away their companions' corpses, they began withdrawing.

This siege battle ended in less than two hours, but it was several times bloodier than yesterday's. Blood had already dyed this stretch of the Outer City Wall red, and Gnoll corpses lay tangled together with the bodies of their own soldiers.

After escaping danger, Rogus immediately summoned the surviving Gnoll clan chiefs to issue new orders.

There had been seventeen of them a few days ago. Now, only nine remained, each bearing injuries.

Everyone looked grim, Rogus included. The ease he had shown before was long gone.

"In this battle, the humans proved very strong. They have fifteen Silver Knights, a considerable force."

"I suspect this is a human outpost, and behind it lies the human nobles' true territory. Therefore, I have decided to bypass this place and attack the human lands beyond it to make up for our losses."

"Yes, Commander."

The remaining nine Gnolls answered, their words revealing their desire to leave this land of death as quickly as possible.

To prevent the human nobles in the castle from taking the initiative to attack, Rogus immediately ordered the cooks to light fires and prepare food. Once the Gnolls had eaten their fill, they would depart at once rather than remain here, lest complications arise.

On the other side, after Velin finished tallying the casualties and compared them with the spoils, he felt somewhat more balanced.

In this battle, 117 people had died. Thirteen were regular soldiers, while the rest were serfs. In addition, 226 people were injured.

They had taken 687 ordinary Gnoll heads, 167 Bronze-grade Gnoll heads, and five Silver-grade Gnoll heads. The remaining corpses had been taken away by the enemy.

"Belder, prepare a force. Tonight, we will..."

At that moment, Knight Randolph entered, dropped to one knee, and reported respectfully, "My lord, the scouts report that the Gnolls have disappeared. They are suspected to have headed east."

Upon hearing this, Velin swallowed the words he had been about to say and continued, "Handle the bodies properly. Prevent an outbreak of plague."

"Yes, my lord."

After Belder accepted the order and left, Velin rested his chin on his hand and began to think.

"They went east, which means they will come back. Then we'll intercept them midway, rob them, and make up for our own losses."

As for what losses the nobles to the east might suffer, that was none of his concern.

He had held off the Gnolls here for a full day and night and killed more than a thousand of them. Whether for the kingdom or for those nobles, he had already done more than enough.