Chapter 109[Axel’s POV]
Once more, we lined our forces up outside the walls of Farrowgate. This time, we had brought the entire bulk of our force in order to make a serious attempt at breaching the walls.
At least, that was the plan as far as the other grunts were aware. I was too low in the totem pole to receive any additional information either, but my keen mind had picked up on enough clues to suggest something else was at play.
The leaders, Draven, Klaus, and Sir Ragnall Finn, had all been diligently preparing their men for this battle. But there was one drill they focused on above all others: the retreat-and-regroup approach.
Plus, we hadn’t brought much in the way of siege equipment. The gate-breaking beasts Alma brought had been left in Borderton for reasons unknown, and we had only two battering rams and six ladders. Sure, some of us could probably just jump the walls, but there was no way Alma was stupid enough to approve of this tactic.
After all, the vampires knew about Klaus and Draven, they would expect the leapfrog tactic and position men to intercept immediately. We would lose our strongest assets if we went with that approach.
If anyone were to ask me, I would say the leaders didn’t intend for us to entirely commit to this attack, contrary to what we had been told. It was more likely they had another scheme in mind, but were keeping it under wraps to avoid leaks.
Well… Either that, or the imperial army was incompetent, and I had made a serious miscalculation in joining them.
“Axel.”
Leon spoke from my side.
“I’m just saying this to make certain, but we’re staying in the back for this fight.”
“Was that a question, or a statement?”
I grinned at him, well aware of what he was trying to say.
“Those were our orders, and Draven’s command takes precedence over yours. Don’t expect any help if you run off on your own.”
He kept his composure instead of growing flustered.
It seemed my little squire was adjusting to having me as his master faster than expected. As for the other one…
“Hey, we could totally climb the walls, right? Let’s get up there and take out the archers this time!”
Felicia nudged me with her elbow, whispering loud enough for everyone around us to hear her poorly disguised plan.
“No. Just sit back and wait.”
I pushed her back with mild annoyance.
What was even more annoying, though, was both of their reactions to my words. They physically recoiled, then looked at me with concern.
“Sit back? Seriously? Did you eat something bad this morning? I told you we should have asked Bubblin to purify our rations!”
Leon said.
“Idiots. Just do as I say.”
I grumbled back.
Did everyone think I was just some mindless berserker who would charge in without a thought? Obviously, if there was some secret plan in the works, that would be where the real fun would start. It would be stupid to run wild right away and end up too injured to participate in the after-party.
That’s right. I was an intelligent berserker. I calculated things first. That way, I could cause the most chaos and spill the most blood out of anyone.
I smiled pleasantly to myself, satisfied that today would be a good day.
“Uh-oh. He’s got that bloodthirsty look again…”
Felicia put some distance between us.
“Damnit… Today’s going to suck.”
Leon similarly lost all hope that I wasn’t planning something reckless.
“Hm? Hey, isn’t that Bubblin over there?”
He pointed to the treeline, and sure enough, our sole mounted member came strutting out without a care.
The red-haired knight, Ragnall Finn, broke away from his own men to briefly exchange words. I focused my aura into my ears, strengthening my hearing to eavesdrop.
“...position? Wonderful… on you… eastern gate. You can lead… understood?”
I clicked my tongue in frustration. I was still too far to make out anything of value.
Though considering that Bubblin was moving to the eastern flank, I assumed he was joining Ragnall’s command far on the opposite side of the battlefield from us.
“Rex isn’t coming?”
Felicia’s ears were perked up as she jumped up and down to get a better view.
“Hmm… Is he on standby somewhere?”
I muttered.
I was hoping to have a sort of personal contest with him to see who could rack up the most achievements, but it didn’t look like he was anywhere in the army.
“The Jaeger squad are meant to be scouts; they’re probably watching from somewhere for enemy reinforcements.”
Leon’s logic was sound, but then why would Bubblin—
“The goblin probably just got bored and ran off.”
—Yeah, that makes sense.
“Aww, I wanted him to see daddy fight.”
Felicia’s ears drooped, and she looked away, suddenly losing her former energy.
I always found it strange how she behaved around Rex. The obvious answer was that she just wanted to jump his bones, but I had serious doubts about whether the idiot therian even comprehended sexual relations. Maybe she just didn’t realise it herself, or maybe I was reading too much into it.
Unlike with the Nekrotica weirdo, I could see these two working out. I mean, he loves cats after all. Maybe I should give them a nudge…
“Alexandru Radu! Draven Pancia has returned to speak to you!”
My mind immediately focused, and the entire army stood at attention as Draven’s voice echoed out.
Assisted by a battlemage who was enhancing the volume for all to hear, Draven’s firm voice was commanding, yet devoid of urgency. He gave the impression that this whole battle was just a formality before his victory.
One man stepped up into the central area of the ramparts. To my surprise, it wasn’t Alexandru, but another familiar face from my days in Soleo.
“Mayor Varley?”
I muttered aloud.
“I hear you, Draven Pancia!”
The mayor of Farrowgate, a portly man known for his economic wit rather than military might, awkwardly shouted back.
Draven paused a moment, subtly looking to the battlemage beside him in confusion, but they could only shrug. Naturally, none of us understood why this man would be on the walls in place of the amy commander.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Mayor Varley, was it? Where is Radu? Or will you be my opponent today?”
Draven took control of the conversation.
“No, er, that is to say… Uh, F-Farrowgate defends itself!”
“...What?”
Draven voiced all of our thoughts.
“F-Farrowgate defends itself!”
He repeated awkwardly.
“Sir Radu is not the protector of this town. We are a proud people who will save ourselves!”
I frowned as I listened to the drivel he spouted. Was it some kind of pathetic trick? Maybe they wanted us to think the vampires had all left, so we would let our guard down?
“Very well, I will speak to you then.”
Draven moved right on past the strange declaration.
“Why do you refuse to surrender? Surely you understand your position here. I guarantee on my name and rank that you will all be treated fairly if you simply cease this pointless resistance.”
“We are proud Soleans, we will never surrender!”
A random soldier yelled back at Draven.
“That’s right! We have the oracle on our side!”
“The gods have our back!”
“No stinking bloodsucker is going to steal our honour!”
One by one, the guards on the wall began shouting back. Meanwhile, those of us who stood behind Draven remained silent.
It was a contrast in discipline if ever I had seen one.
“Disgraceful. Do the Soleans think this display shows their resolve?”
Leon frowned, then gave me a cautious side-eye.
“...Sorry, I don’t mean to imply all Soleans—”
“I don’t care.”
I cut him off immediately, not out of anger, I just genuinely didn’t give a damn.
The rabble continued yelling, unaware of how poorly they were appearing in our eyes. To make matters worse, Mayor Varley was trying to deliver some kind of inspirational speech, but was totally drowned out by his own subjects.
During this, I noticed something interesting about the people. They all looked exhausted.
Sure, we harassed them continuously not long ago, but enough time had passed for them to be well-rested by now. I had assumed Alma’s strategy was to give them a small taste of what was to come should they refuse to surrender before a real attack was staged. But there was no way they could have been this rattled by our actions so far, right?
What was I missing? It was possible that Farrowgate had just been hit by some kind of internal issue at a convenient time. Or, maybe Alma had some other scheme she had been employing while the rest of us were resting in Borderton.
“Enough. If you won’t surrender, you will die. Another offer will not be made... Today.”
Draven calmly spoke over the chaos, then produced an object from his bag.
A large, metal object.
Or rather, Harkon’s severed head.
He lazily allowed it to roll off the ends of his fingers, then kicked it as it fell.
Boom!
The head blew through a chunk of the wall, and Harkon’s head was embedded inside.
Shocked screams of terror resounded from behind the gate. Presumably, Harkon’s head was sent deep enough into stone that his frozen features now stared down at his former comrades.
“A-attack!”
Mayor Varley fled from the wall with haste, and the arrows immediately began flying.
I remained with the rear line, well out of range of the barrage. This was the perfect place to witness Alma’s counter strategy for dealing with the enchanted arrow attacks.
Shield walls formed in the front line, though they were much smaller than what would normally be used. Groups were divided into 30, with three spellcasters in the centre. From there, one spellcaster—designated as a “spotter”—would analyse the arrows being loaded. Then, the other two—our “inner guard”—would prepare defensive spells to engulf the shield wall.
The smaller groups meant the spellcasters didn’t need to overextend the area of effect, thus saving on mana. Likewise, it forced the enemy to expend more ammunition than last time, as we spread our forces out across the field.
“Kyahaha! Weak! Weak! Cowardly arrows!”
Just like last time, Bubblin ran out on his own, totally immune to any of the projectiles sent his way. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as handy in diverting attention as before, as the enemy already knew not to waste their time aiming at him.
“Hmph! This how a knight fight!”
Seemingly angered at being ignored, Bubblin hurled a shining golden javelin into the defenders, piercing straight through a man’s chest and throwing him from the wall.
“Nice work, goblin!”
From the eastern flank, Ragnall and his men began cheering. Bubblin continued this form of harassment and occasionally ran back to receive more javelins from the men there.
I knew he had become popular with some of the soldiers, but I wasn’t aware of the extent. It certainly didn’t seem like they were just humouring him, though.
As for the western flank, Klaus was assisting in suppressing the archers with his aura attacks, creating an opening for us in the central force.
“Ladders!”
Draven roared.
“That’s us.”
I picked up a scaling ladder on my own and sprinted across the field, leaping off one of the shield walls to slam it down and lock the hooking mechanism into place.
I vaguely heard Leon cursing as he and Felicia worked together to run a second ladder up to the wall with the rest of the rear line.
There was no need to look and confirm, I was definitely the first one on the wall.
And therefore, there was no need to be concerned about my surroundings.
Lightning crackled along my arms. Lightning Armour was active, and the incoming blades bounced back harmlessly.
“It’s the traitor! Fire magic! Fire magic!”
Someone yelled, and I noted that those in my immediate vicinity had dropped their weapons to pull out a bundle of sticks and aim them at me.
“Heh, that little shit.”
Knowing who was behind this, I changed tactics.
“I hope you’re watching, Olly. I’ve learnt some new tricks since you ran off.”
I cut off the flow of mana, then forced my aura out while activating my Gift. This rapid, violent surge of power, which stressed both my muscles and my mana circuits, was something of a breakthrough that came in the heat of my fight with Rex. The rapid shifting between mana and aura caused a brief moment where both sources were active at once, and they burst outward with double the force that I would usually be able to muster.
“This is called Storm's Anvil.”
I laughed as the gouts of flame engulfed me from either side.
Despite over 20 makeshift wands being used, not a single spark reached my skin. My Lightning Armour shattered into shrapnel, tearing through the flesh of everyone around me. The sheer explosive shockwave that accompanied this sent those who survived hurtling down from the wall.
Even the ladder I arrived on was nearly sent back, but I calmly kept a single foot down to prevent that.
With one move, the ramparts on the western wall of Farrowgate were cleared of enemies, and before long, the rest of our ladders were in place.
The others were in a hurry to join in, but I hadn’t had my fill yet.
Down on the ground, waiting by the gate, was Guy Vespertille.
That little coward held back on me last time, and that was something I could never allow to go unpunished.
I lunged right for him, slapping aside his feeble attempt to slash me with his blade. I grabbed his face firmly and forced his mouth open, then ripped off the necklace of blood vials and jammed the last filled vial down his throat.
I forced his jaw down with anticipation. Shards of glass tore at his tongue and the walls of his mouth, but I mercilessly kept him from spitting anything out.
There was something about that last vial that he feared. Something he didn’t want to use against his “friends”. Something that gave this weak-willed coward the mistaken impression that he could ever kill me.
And there was no damned way I was letting him run away before showing it to me.
He flailed uselessly as I held him off the ground. Strangely, none of the garrison was doing anything to step in. They were clearly scared, but fear usually drives a cornered rat to attack.
Did they not care if Guy died?
“Axel! Armour up!”
Reflexively, I reformed Lightning Armour, and a second later, a series of orange horizontal lines began cutting people apart around me. Some were poorly measured and struck me too, but they couldn’t do anything against my defences.
Air Blade. A simple aura-based technique that infused the user’s sword strokes with energy that would then be sent out to cut foes at a distance.
And it was none other than my squire Leon who was raining death down into the courtyard.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Guy’s furious expression.
“Still think you chose the right side? Your friends didn’t lift a finger for you, meanwhile…”
I pointed a thumb back at Leon and let the situation speak for itself.
But Guy only continued his muffled yelling while trying to break free.
“How long is this meant to take? Or was that vial just a bluff?”
Annoyed, I threw him down a side street, away from the bulk of the Solean army. I ran straight through their useless defence and brought my foot down on Guy’s arm before he could stand up.
The bones beneath my heel were ground to dust, but Guy didn’t make a sound. He only stared in horror at something in the sky.
“Hm? Is something there?”
I looked back, almost hoping he would take the opening and do something. But nothing happened. And nothing was behind me.
“Have you gone insane? Do you think I won’t kill you if you play the madman?”
His refusal to show me what he was hiding only angered me even more.
“Well, you’re right. I won’t, because I promised someone I respect that I wouldn’t…”
I lifted the trash by the collar and slapped him a couple of times roughly before dropping him to his feet.
“Still, he never said I couldn’t break you.”
Watching Guy sway with a stupid look on his face, I drove my foot deep into his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall of a residential building.
“Haa… How boring.”
I walked casually towards the weakling who was grovelling on the ground, coughing up blood.
“You didn’t spit it up, did you? I’ll make you lick it off the floor if I have to. Come on, show me what you’ve got.”
I moved to bring my foot down on the back of his head, but then, finally, I felt something.
“Oh ho? It took you long enough.”
The feeling of danger that flooded through my body and forced me to step back simultaneously brought a bright smile to my face.
Guy stood slowly, though remained hunched over.
“That’s an impressive presence you’ve got there.”
I talked casually even as Guy’s bloodthirsty glare locked onto me, and he bore his fangs like a rabid beast.
He dropped his sword and suddenly ran at me. The speed was definitely an improvement, but not to my level. I waited with my hands spread wide to welcome his attack, all the while calculating his range and speed to dodge an incoming attack.
But the attack came long before he reached me.
I had to rely on instinct to sway out of the way of the bloody spear that appeared from nowhere and tried to claim my heart.
In the brief second that my attention was diverted to the attack, Guy closed the distance and began striking at me with a pair of crimson scimitars. His wounded hand had already repaired itself.
Once again, the weapons had appeared from nowhere. Though it didn’t take long to understand the source.
My foot landed on some of Guy’s blood that I spilt earlier, and in that same moment, a spike emerged to skewer my foot and root me in place.
“Ha! Nice.”
Ignoring the pain, I ripped my foot back up and delivered a kick to Guy’s side before he could swing his conjured halberd.
There was a brief respite from his attack. During that time, a shred of sanity returned to Guy’s face, and he spoke through gritted teeth.
“Run. I don’t want to kill you.”
My blood ran hot, and I couldn’t do a thing to hold back my laughter.
It was hilarious. For the first time, he was doing something entertaining, and he really thought I would run? Just because I might die otherwise? Was he an idiot? Did he even know me?
“Do it. Kill me. Use any method. Break every code. Show me everything you’ve got!”
I aimed my arms ahead.
“I’ll take it all head-on!”
