Chapter 56: Unexpected Situation
"Charge——"
"Hold the line! Hold the line!"
The shouts of battle atop the city walls were deafening, with the frenzied cries of soldiers rising and falling in waves.
Some came from the enemy, others from their own side.
On the battlefield at the eastern gate of Red Soil City, the left tower had already been partially seized by the attacking soldiers, but the enemy's near-suicidal counterattack quickly rendered the recently taken corner dangerously unstable.
It was like a lone boat caught in a storm at sea.
Under the relentless assault of enemies throwing themselves forward without regard for their lives, a breach quickly opened in the newly seized area.
Many enemies seized the opportunity to widen the gap, charging with their weapons, and even fists, feet, and teeth, relentlessly killing the attacking soldiers until every one of them was dead or pushed from the wall to their deaths.
Then came a wave of cheers.
"Woo——wooooo——"
"Woo——wooooo——"
The horn signaling retreat was blown, and the soldiers on the attacking side began to fall back as if gone mad.
Especially the serfs, they didn't even bother to retrieve the ladders, simply leaving them leaning against the wall, or abandoning them on the ground, allowing the enemy to reclaim them swiftly.
This marked the third failed siege attempt in recent days.
Yam stared at the blood-soaked wall, his brows tightly furrowed.
It was his first time realizing how intense and brutal war truly was.
And this was with no Bloodline Users having yet entered the battlefield.
If Bloodline Users became involved, the intensity of the battlefield could rise by another level.
The Viscount of Red Soil Territory's desperate resistance had been expected by everyone, but what truly defied belief was his immense influence in Red Soil City.
During this siege, Yam had seen more than once that among the enemy forces were civilians, farmers, and even many Demon Hunters.
It was precisely because of these people's involvement that Red Soil City, originally in a disadvantaged position, quickly gained the upper hand.
The coalition forces of the six lords from Red Eagle Territory couldn’t even breach the walls, let alone open the gates.
Seeing the wounded soldiers returning, both Yam and Giggs looked extremely grim.
Of the more than eighty soldiers they had brought, fewer than fifty remained, nearly half of whom were injured.
But they couldn’t vent their frustration.
Dali hadn’t simply used the soldiers from White Mountain Territory as cannon fodder: of the 150 soldiers he brought from Red River Territory, fewer than 100 remained. And of the 300 veterans brought by the Eaglehead Territory, barely a little over 200 survived.
The other territories had also suffered heavy losses. This was why, in just a few days, even serfs were being driven into battle.
At this point, the war had been completely dragged into a quagmire.
...
"I think the most urgent matter now is to figure out why the people of Red Soil City suddenly went mad!"
"Is there any point in figuring that out now?"
"Why not! At the very least, if we understand the reason, we might find a way to break the enemy's fighting spirit!"
Yam had not yet entered the command tent, but he could already hear the heated quarrel inside what had been turned into a war council.
From the voices, he could roughly tell the disputing parties were Atork and the Viscount of Forest Territory.
The one advocating for uncovering the reason and breaking the enemy's will to fight was Atork.
The one who believed that the most important thing now was to have all Bloodline Users join the battle and stop this drawn-out war was the Viscount of Forest Territory.
Baron Hess of Gem Territory remained silent.
Whenever a member of the Kasein Family was present, he rarely spoke, usually playing the role of an echo chamber.
However, this time, no direct member of the Kasein Family had arrived, so logically, battlefield command should have defaulted to the highest-ranking noble present, Viscount Cardon Weist of Forest Territory.
But in reality, the highest commanding officer was Karen Hod.
The Left Knight Commander of the Kasein Family.
Dali was the Right Knight Commander of the Kasein Family.
It was said that above the two, there was also a Chief Knight Commander of the Kasein Family, Dean Seath, but he usually did not handle specific administrative duties.
Thus, the task of managing the other Bloodline Knights in the Kasein Family was left to the two of them.
Reportedly, the Kasein Family was trying to emulate other great noble houses by attempting to form a knight order composed entirely of Bloodline Knights.
It just hadn’t succeeded yet.
But the reputations of Karen Hod and Dali had risen significantly because of this.
Thus, in many cases, the two of them were regarded as the representatives of the Kasein Family’s attitude and will.
It was precisely for this reason that Karen Hod was able to become the commander of the current noble coalition, responsible for assigning duties in the war.
Yam stood silently outside the tent, listening to the arguments within. After waiting briefly, he saw Akar, face gloomy, approaching.
The two exchanged a silent glance, said nothing, and then entered the tent together.
"Alright, everyone is here."
Seeing Yam and Akar arrive, Knight Commander Karen, who had been allowing Atork and Viscount Cardon to argue freely, finally spoke to halt their dispute.
"I believe you all understand by now, if we continue like this, the situation will be highly unfavorable to us."
"First, there’s the issue of food and medicine."
"We prepared three months of rations. Since entering Red Soil Territory, almost two months have passed, and the siege has lasted for about half a month. To put it bluntly, due to the high casualties, our food now might last two more months, but the shortage of medicine is growing worse, non-combat attrition averages around ten people per day."
"So if this continues, we’ll need to prepare a supply line."
"But such a thing is actually more disadvantageous to us, due to the overwhelming number of variables."
Yam said nothing. He had accepted the reality that he had no talent for military matters, because he simply couldn’t understand the complications Karen mentioned.
But he knew clearly, if things continued like this, fewer than thirty of the soldiers from White Mountain Territory would return. This would be a significant blow to the territory, as it meant over fifty families would lose their support.
"Perhaps we can raid nearby villages for food."
Someone offered the suggestion.
"This is already the result of our raids," Karen shook his head. "From the start of the siege, realizing how intense the fighting would be, I immediately ordered Baron Hess to handle the raiding and requisitioning of supplies, including medicine, food, and other resources. These are the results of those efforts. Without those raids on other villages in Red Soil Territory, our shortages would be even worse now."
"Wait a minute!"
As soon as Karen finished speaking, Atork suddenly interjected, his face dark, "We launched the siege sixteen days ago. Red Soil City began intensifying its resistance, with even the civilians joining in, ten days ago. That was right after our first round of resupply, wasn’t it?"
Hearing this, Yam, Akar, and many others in the tent looked puzzled.
But Karen, Dali, and Viscount Cardon from Forest Territory all turned grim.
"Baron Hess, did you massacre a village?"
Atork asked slowly, enunciating every word.
At that moment, all the Bloodline Knights present understood.
The looks they directed at the father and son from Gem Territory were especially harsh.
"They refused to hand over food and medicine. What was I supposed to do?" Baron Hess responded grimly.
"At first, I didn’t intend to massacre anyone, just to punish the ringleaders. But the entire village went mad. I had to be responsible for my soldiers! Besides, what’s the problem? They were just a bunch of lowborn trash!"
Hearing this, both Akar and Yam felt a wave of suppressed anger and frustration rise within them.
If not for the current alliance, they would have gladly killed Baron Hess on the spot.
Others didn’t know that Yam and Akar’s family came from Gem Territory, but the two of them had never forgotten.
They clearly remembered the kind of life they had endured there, especially that night raid that changed their lives forever.
"But now, those so-called lowborn trash have brought us tremendous trouble!" Atork roared.
"Red Soil Territory isn’t like other places! The people here have spent their whole lives dealing with magical beasts. Regardless of age, gender, or profession, they are all incredibly fierce. For centuries, the citizens of Red Soil Territory have been Red Eagle Territory’s most important source of soldiers."
"And you dared try to use a massacre as a means of suppression!"
"How utterly foolish can you be!"
"Mind your tone, Atork Senels! You are not yet the lord of Bayor Territory!" Baron Hess shouted, unable to maintain his composure. "And right now, you are speaking to a lord, a baron!"
"Heh." Atork sneered. "Very well, then, Baron Hess. Tell us, how are we supposed to capture Red Soil City? That city holds over twenty thousand residents. We have only seven hundred soldiers left. Oh, with the serfs, maybe we reach a thousand."
Baron Hess fell silent.
Because he, too, had no answer.
In truth, he had always known the people of Red Soil Territory were fierce. When he first invaded and joined up with the main army, they had passed through a village.
At the time, they had only eliminated the garrison troops and the militia aiding in defense, not the whole village.
But later, as the war stalled, he recalled Akar’s previous warning, suspecting that the Viscount of Red Soil Territory might have formed ties with Count Shuvaric.
Thus, he had wanted to end the campaign against Red Soil Territory quickly, and his methods became harsh.
In fact, when the citizens of Red Soil City started fighting back fiercely, he had even suspected that Count Shuvaric was secretly interfering.
He never imagined it was his own massacre that sparked the chain reaction.
"Arguing any further is meaningless," Karen sighed. "What matters most now is how we take Red Soil City. …Lord Atork, do you have any means of breaking the fighting spirit of its citizens?"
"No way." Atork replied bitterly. "If it were something else, maybe. But massacres, the most brutal tactic in warfare, might intimidate other places. In Red Soil Territory, it only has the opposite effect. …Unless we can eliminate the lord of Red Soil Territory quickly, or at least kill more than half of Red Soil City’s residents, there is no way to break their spirit."
"What about a decapitation strike?"
"The enemy won’t give us that chance." Atork shook his head. "And even if we do breach the walls and break through the gates, our forces will be exhausted. We’ll lose any advantage we have with our Bloodline Users. If surrounded by Red Soil City’s residents, we could lose several Bloodline Users."
At this point, Viscount Cardon no longer insisted on involving the Bloodline Users.
They were facing resistance from over twenty thousand residents of Red Soil Territory. Even Third-Tier Bloodline Users, who were stronger and more enduring than Second-Tier ones, would still become exhausted. And once surrounded while fatigued, their fate wouldn’t be much better.
The only real advantage was that they might still be able to break out before total exhaustion, unlike the Second-Tier Bloodline Users, who could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
"Unless…"
"Unless we have a Fourth-Tier Bloodline User."
A cold voice rang out from outside the tent.
As its owner lifted the flap and entered, everyone inside immediately rose to their feet.
"Lord Dean."