Bloody Battle

Under the rain of arrows, the Beastmen's offensive slowed somewhat, but their advance did not stop.

When one Beastman fell, more Beastmen stepped forward to take his place.

Tens of thousands of Beastman soldiers charged toward the city gates with shields raised and weapons in hand, their roars booming like thunder.

Other Beastman soldiers carried enormous Scaling Ladders. As long as they set the ladders against the city walls, they could climb them and storm the ramparts.

"Target the Beastmen beneath those Scaling Ladders! Attack!"

The Oga Kingdom's generals were experienced as well and promptly shifted their targets.

It was not easy for arrows to pierce shields and kill the Beastmen behind them, but the Beastmen carrying Scaling Ladders had no shields to protect them.

Although the darkness greatly affected the archers' vision, the enormous Scaling Ladders instead helped them lock onto their targets.

Wave after wave of arrows fell upon the Beastman army. Many Beastman soldiers carrying Scaling Ladders died in the arrow rain, and the ladders toppled into the crowd, further stalling the Beastmen's offensive.

But these Beastmen were all battle-hardened warriors. Whenever one died, another swiftly took his place, lifted the Scaling Ladder, and continued the charge.

Not long after the battle began, the Beastman army was already only a few hundred meters from the city gates.

"What a shame. It would be great if there were mages here."

Andres stood atop the city wall, observing the battle outside, and could not help sighing.

In the era of the original novel, mages held a higher status than warriors. The reason was simple: at the same level, magic was far more destructive than a warrior's strength.

If there were mages here, a single large-scale magical attack would be far more effective than arrows.

And there were even more powerful magic crystal cannons.

On a battlefield packed with people like this, one blast from a magic crystal cannon could take over a hundred lives.

Unfortunately, the Dylan Plane had no magic yet.

Boom!

A series of deafening explosions suddenly erupted amid the Beastman army. Blaze shot into the sky as Beastman soldiers screamed without end.

"It's gunpowder!" Andres's eyes lit up.

Ever since the alchemists of the Sacred Tree Continent developed gunpowder, the various races had gradually begun using it in warfare.

Seeing the Beastman army closing in, the Oga Kingdom decisively changed tactics and deployed gunpowder.

This time, the Beastman soldiers' charge was finally checked.

Amid the roar of gunpowder explosions, Beastmen were continuously blasted into the air. Severed limbs flew in every direction, many Scaling Ladders were destroyed, and the Blaze illuminated the entire battlefield.

"Inori, it seems things are going smoothly."

Mars, Marquis Daniel, Alisson, and the others had also arrived atop the city wall and stood beside Inori.

Seeing the battle situation, Marquis Daniel revealed a faint, relieved smile.

"We can't let our guard down yet. Resior can't possibly have only this much up his sleeve." Inori's expression was grave.

She attached immense importance to this war. If she could win it, her prestige in the Oga Kingdom would rise to a new height—calling it unparalleled would not be an exaggeration.

This war will be an important bargaining chip in my bid for the throne, Inori thought.

Whoosh! Bang!

A massive boulder fell from the sky and struck the city wall, making the entire wall tremble slightly.

In the night sky lit by the Blaze, boulders continued to fall, smashing toward the Oga Kingdom soldiers atop the walls.

"It's catapults!" Inori narrowed her eyes.

Seeing their charge obstructed, the Beastmen had begun using siege engines.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boulders fell one after another. Many soldiers were crushed into pulp before they could even scream.

"Watch out!"

"Take cover!"

The soldiers scattered in search of cover to avoid the boulders, and chaos inevitably broke out atop the city wall.

Just then, a boulder hurtled toward Andres and the others.

Hmph!

Marquis Daniel leaped high into the air, a Rapier in his hand. Its silver circular guard cast a cold gleam beneath the night sky.

The Rapier traced several arcs through the air, and the incoming boulder was sliced into several pieces, which fell beneath the city wall.

"Thank you, Marquis," Inori said.

"It's nothing. I know nothing about warfare, so this strength of mine is all I can offer you." Marquis Daniel sheathed his Rapier with a smile.

Marquis Daniel had received his title solely through his strength.

In the Oga Kingdom, a Level Eight Warrior could directly receive the title of marquis along with a fief.

After Inori broke through to Level Eight, her title had also been elevated from count to marquis.

"This is bad—they're coming up!" Mars cried out.

Because of the catapults, the Oga Kingdom's offensive had been affected. Seizing the opportunity, the Beastman army closed the distance and had already reached the base of the city wall.

Although many Scaling Ladders had been destroyed in the previous fighting, the Beastmen had come well prepared, and nearly half of their ladders remained intact.

The Scaling Ladders were set against the city walls, with the Beastman soldiers positioning their upper ends slightly below the top of the walls.

This way, with the city wall between them, the defending soldiers could not push the ladders down.

And with that small gap between the ladders and the wall, they could easily jump across with their strength.

Large numbers of Beastman soldiers quickly climbed the Scaling Ladders, attempting to storm the walls and fight the defending warriors.

The defending soldiers were experienced as well. They directly tipped down pots of oil they had prepared beforehand, pouring the scalding hot oil over the Beastmen attacking below.

"Argh!" Many Beastmen clutched their faces and bodies, convulsing as they fell from the Scaling Ladders.

"Attack!" the defending commander ordered coldly.

The archers raised flaming arrows and fired directly downward.

A large amount of hot oil had already been poured below. Once the flaming arrows struck, Beastman soldiers who had merely been scalded by the oil and had not yet died instantly became balls of fire.

Beneath the city wall, the battlefield became a Sea of Fire.

Countless Beastmen turned into human-shaped fireballs, shrieking in agony within the Sea of Fire before collapsing one after another.

However, some Beastmen did manage to charge up.

But only one or two could climb a Scaling Ladder at once. Faced with the blades and swords thrust at them by countless defending warriors, these few Beastman soldiers could only die with bitter hatred.

"Kill! Kill!"

The soldiers had all gone bloodthirsty.

Beastmen and humans had fought for many years, forging countless blood feuds between them. Once battle began, there was no need to rally anyone.

Boom! Boom!

Dull rumbling came from outside the city.

Andres suddenly saw a row of enormous behemoths gradually approaching.

"Siege Towers!"

There were ten Siege Towers in total. Each was forty meters tall, surpassing the height of Black Mountain City's walls. Built entirely from extraordinarily hard special metal and stone, they advanced toward the walls like massive mobile fortresses.

Once the Siege Towers reached the city walls, large numbers of Beastman soldiers could charge directly onto the ramparts through them.

"Quick, blow them up!" The defending commander had clearly realized the danger of the Siege Towers and roared his command.

Boom!

The defending soldiers unleashed gunpowder against the Siege Towers, but its power could not shake the special metal that was several meters thick.

The Siege Towers were like moving city walls, steadily closing in on Black Mountain City.

With a bang, the Siege Towers finally connected with Black Mountain City's walls.

"Kill!"

On the other side of the Siege Towers were sloping stairways, and large numbers of Beastman soldiers climbed up the steps. At the same time, the Beastman soldiers activated the mechanisms on the Siege Towers.

Creak, creak.

As the mechanisms operated, thick slabs of special metal on the Siege Towers lowered toward Black Mountain City, forming broad passageways.

The ten Siege Towers stood side by side, creating passageways several hundred meters wide.

The Beastman soldiers rushed down these passageways from above, charging in for the kill.