Chapter 197 : The Liberation of Saint
Chapter 197: The Liberation of Saint
“Everyone, attack!!”
The moment Ulrison's order to attack was given, the knights charged forward.
Kill every last Imperial bastard!
Avenge Master Durek!
The sight of the knights charging all at once was quite spectacular.
Unlike the free-spirited Beastmen, they moved in perfect order, and their equipment was meticulously maintained.
It reminded me of the Imperial Army surging like a black tide beneath the castle walls.
Back then, I'd been quite flustered, hadn't I?
Because the value of defending a fortress wasn't nearly as great as I'd expected.
Saint was also an enormous castle with towering walls, but when knights charged like that, the walls didn't mean much.
They could simply climb over them and fight the enemy.
“They should've done this from the beginning.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Imperial Army. When they first set foot in Levelium, the lords should've united and driven them out.”
“That would've been the proper approach.”
Haken had every right to say something like that.
After all, Haken had been the one most aggressively advocating the expulsion of the Imperial Army from the very beginning.
The other Grand Lords had shown little enthusiasm, so nothing came of it, but Haken's stance had remained consistent throughout.
Even while the other Grand Lords traded with the Imperial bastards, Haken continued to maintain a hardline stance and never even gave them a second glance.
'If anyone deserves to wipe out the Imperial Army, it's Haken. At this point, it wouldn't sit well if another Grand Lord reaped the rewards.'
Yet for all that, the battle's progressing rather sluggishly.
'Is this the limit of a hastily assembled force? Something feels lacking.'
They had charged toward the walls with tremendous momentum, but the results weren't particularly impressive.
While Haken's knights fought the enemy aggressively, the knights from the other territories were visibly holding back, even from where I stood.
'Though I can't exactly blame them.'
This battle belonged to Haken.
Strictly speaking, they were nothing more than outsiders.
They had sent troops because they didn't want to oppose Haken outright, but they clearly had no intention of throwing themselves fully into the fight.
Depending on how things developed, they might even be considering switching sides to New Level.
I'd been somewhat optimistic just because they'd sent reinforcements, but the world evidently wasn't that simple.
'Meanwhile, the Imperial bastards are fighting with their lives on the line.'
They have nowhere left to retreat.
'That's true. They're truly backed into a corner.'
Unlike the somewhat passive allied knights, the Imperial soldiers fought with desperate ferocity.
They had nowhere left to run.
These were Imperials who had survived as drifters even after being expelled from Levelium.
Anyone who had managed to endure that kind of chaos wasn't ordinary.
They had also gained considerable combat experience through the Siege of Saint, and perhaps because of that, they weren't easy to bring down.
'Besides... the Imperial bastards preserved far more of their strength than I expected.'
The Liberation War of Levelium.
While we fought the Imperial Army in the Rabbit Tribe's territory, Vines and New Level joined forces with the former lords of Levelium to liberate the region.
Three territories in the Levelium region had been liberated that way.
Since it wasn't an area we could intervene in, I only received the final report after the war ended.
The report claimed that one Master and only a portion of the Imperial Army had barely escaped.
'That looks like a lot more than just "a portion."'
There were simply too many knights waiting there.
At a glance, there had to be several hundred of them.
At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the majority of the knights defending Mete had escaped.
It seemed they had focused on preserving their strength from the very beginning once the situation turned unfavorable.
'No wonder Saint fell so easily.'
So they had been hiding a trump card.
Furthermore, the Imperial knights who had ruled Levelium were seasoned veterans with extensive combat experience.
From sieges to defensive battles, they had accumulated tremendous experience during their conquest of Levelium.
With such experienced knights holding the line, this siege wasn't going to be resolved easily.
“Hah... this won't be easy.”
Ulrison appeared to be thinking the same thing as he sighed while surveying the battlefield.
He clearly wanted to crush the Imperial Army overwhelmingly, but the situation wasn't cooperating.
What they needed now was a truly decisive solution.
“At this rate... Hm?”
Indeed. Now it begins.
At that moment...
Some distance away from the walls, the Beastman Alliance's forces began assembling.
The Dog Tribe gathered around Leisha and her personal guard.
The Beastman Alliance was the second wave.
The plan had been for Haken's allied army to attack first, after which the Beastmen would join the siege.
Whether it was meant as caution or simply disregard, that had been the conclusion of the war council.
Leisha had looked like she had plenty to say, but I'd simply told her to go along with it.
After all, Haken's allied forces had no reliable way to deal with the enemy Masters.
One way or another, they would inevitably have to rely on Leisha.
But judging by how things were unfolding, it no longer mattered whether they were the second wave or not.
The battle needed a new variable.
With Leisha's exceptional combat instincts, there was no way she'd let this opportunity pass.
She kept signaling me with her eyes, and I nodded in return.
If we intervened now, we'd have plenty of justification.
'Ulrison probably won't object either.'
Still, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly Leisha and the Dog Tribe intended to do amidst that chaotic battlefield.
If they planned to storm the walls, there was no reason to line up in formation like that.
Besides, chaotic melee combat like this wasn't an ideal battlefield for the Dog Tribe.
'What's she doing? What exactly is she planning...?'
She's gathering an enormous amount of Aura.
Leisha was one of the strongest among the Beastman Great Warriors.
Her talent for controlling Aura was unrivaled.
She even possessed the unbelievable feat of smashing the head of a Calamity-class monster with Aura Resistance using nothing but an Aura Punch.
And now...
That very Leisha stood at the front, gathering an immense amount of Aura.
Rrraaaagh!
Anyone capable of sensing even the slightest amount of Aura couldn't help but notice the overwhelming Aura she had gathered.
With a sharp roar, Leisha launched herself toward the castle gate.
BOOM!!!!
Like a cannonball, she slammed directly into the massive iron gate.
Accompanied by an explosion so violent it was hard to believe any human could produce it...
The enormous iron gate shattered instantly.
She tore it apart!
That's right.
She had literally torn the castle gate apart.
“Good heavens.”
The Enhancement Magic placed upon castle walls and gates existed to defend against monsters.
Even when countless monsters attacked, the walls and gates remained steadfast.
Even against Out-of-Rank Monsters, they could buy a considerable amount of time.
That was precisely why knights conducting sieges rarely bothered attacking the walls or gates directly.
Yet...
That very gate had been mercilessly ripped apart by a single strike from Leisha.
It was utterly absurd.
How could something like that even be possible?
Judging by Ulrison's wide eyes, I wasn't the only one thinking that.
Then again, anyone with common sense would be dumbfounded.
Remarkable. As expected of the Guardian personally chosen by Lady Bestia.
I'd always known she was strong.
But to think she'd become even stronger.
The old Leisha wouldn't have been capable of such an astonishing feat.
It seemed her battle against the Gnoll Lord had become another turning point for her as well.
'Does she seriously get stronger just by breathing?'
No knight could witness something so outrageous without being astonished.
If nothing else, we'd certainly accomplished our goal of demonstrating our true strength.
“Everyone, attack!”
“Johnson! Johnson!”
The instant Leisha smashed through the gate, Baurok gave the order to charge.
Before I even realized it, the Dog Tribe warriors had become completely Johnson-ized, shouting "Johnson!" as they charged into Saint.
The Imperial Army had never imagined the gate would be breached so easily.
They were completely helpless.
Large numbers of Dog Tribe warriors flooded into the city, throwing everything into chaos.
As the Dog Tribe warriors rampaged(?) through the city, even the Imperial soldiers atop the walls began to falter rapidly.
“You arrogant shield bastard! I've waited for this day!”
The moment the enraged Leisha pounced on Octosia, the Imperial Army's morale plummeted.
After that...
“We've won!”
Starting with Octosia, the Imperial knights began collapsing one after another.
After that, it became a one-way trip to the afterlife.
The tide of battle shifted rapidly, and the liberation of Saint came within reach.
Still, it seemed they hadn't been bluffing about fighting to the death, as some Imperial soldiers fled deeper into Saint.
But...
The remnants of the Imperial Army couldn't even properly secure supplies.
There wasn't much they could prepare in terms of traps.
Thanks to Haken's swift advance, they hadn't even had time to prepare simple traps properly.
“No surrender! Wipe out every last Imperial parasite!”
After occupying the interior of Saint, Ulrison made the firm decision to accept no surrender and thoroughly exterminate every Imperial soldier hiding within the city.
It would've been different if they were innocent civilians.
But there was no reason to spare drifters who survived by raiding merchant caravans.
Even if those crimes had been committed merely to survive after being exiled.
Now that things had reached this point, it was wiser to eliminate future problems, even if it seemed somewhat ruthless.
I had no objections.
'The hatred between them runs deeper than I expected. It doesn't seem like coexistence is even possible.'
The Imperials who had once occupied Levelium...
And the people of the peninsula who had reclaimed it...
Neither side seemed to have any intention of coexisting.
Imperials and peninsula natives were like oil and water.
They could never mix.
Isn't that what makes the Grand Lords so remarkable?
Looking at it that way, Deron Level and Mishel Vines truly were impressive for temporarily joining hands with the Imperial Army for the sake of profit.
To be honest, Haken Lord's attitude was far closer to the norm.
Of course, the most remarkable of all was Alex Level, who had brought those Imperial bastards to the Levela Peninsula in the first place.
'Completely wiping out the Imperial Army should earn Haken quite a few points.'
Anyone from the peninsula would praise this achievement.
Even the people of Vines and New Level, who had secretly cooperated with the Imperial Army, hadn't done so because they liked them.
Public opinion throughout Haken's territory would undoubtedly improve as well.
More importantly, I was especially pleased that we'd stolen the achievement Alex Level had wanted.
It would've been infuriating if Alex Level, the one who had brought the Imperial Army here, ended up being praised for driving them out.
“Hah... that was really exhausting.”
“You worked hard, Dame Irene. Dame Celine as well.”
“Yes, my Lord. Thank you.”
Unlike the Crimson Comet, which now consisted largely of Rabbit Tribe members after the generational shift, Irene and Celine—who were practically half Haken themselves—had joined Haken's knights in the vanguard.
The two of them had participated in that chaotic battle atop the walls at the very beginning of the siege.
Perhaps because of that, they returned looking utterly exhausted.
“But we still achieved something.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. It looked like Sir Roman finally found his footing.”
“He fought extremely bravely. Honestly, I was rather surprised.”
“Really?”
Irene had fought one of the Empire's Masters.
The Imperial Master had been skilled enough that she had gradually been pushed back until Leisha engaged Octosia.
I'd even debated several times whether I should step in myself.
Meanwhile, Roman had fought alongside Celine against the Imperial knights.
Their role had been to keep the Imperial knights from interfering with Irene, and apparently Roman had fought with remarkable determination.
Considering that Celine had never thought very highly of Roman because of the trouble he'd caused Irene, the fact that she was saying this now meant he'd truly changed.
If no one else knew, Roman certainly did.
As Durek's disciple, he knew full well that Durek had been the mastermind behind the rebellion.
Perhaps Roman felt a measure of responsibility himself.
After all, someone had to fill the void Durek left behind.
That wasn't an unreasonable way to think.
Thud... Thud... Thud... Thud...
Around the time Haken's allied forces finished securing Saint...
The faint sound of galloping horses echoed from the distance.
It was Alex Level, who had finally grasped the situation and was hastily advancing with only his knights.
But you're too late~
'Still, they got here incredibly fast. It almost became troublesome.'
We had nearly ended up greeting(?) Alex Level before capturing Saint.
Had that happened, the situation would've become extremely unfavorable.