Chapter 66: Prelude to the Siege (Revised)
However, the human army that had already landed on the island clearly wouldn’t give Airael and her followers much time to refine her newly devised battle strategy.
On the second day after their landing, the pressing human army set off toward Silnas Fortress in the center of the island.
Though somewhat weary, the morale of the human troops was soaring.
They had just won a previous battle in a remarkable turnaround.
Thanks to Victor’s propaganda, this battle had transformed in their minds into an easy victory, a decisive one.
The elite forces of the elves had already been destroyed, and their Marshal had been slain by Emperor Alexander—what was left of the elves was as defenseless as a bunch of ragged chickens.
For example, during the landing battle, they had completely wrested control of the island’s landing site within half a day.
Under Airael’s orders, the human army faced no further resistance.
The treants warriors were hidden deep within the great forest.
Though they were brimming with fighting spirit, they dared not disobey Airael’s command.
Before setting out, they had received strict instructions from the Grand Elder to obey, especially the commands from the Elven Queen!
Whatever the Elven Queen commanded, they would do.
Thus, the human army successfully arrived at the base of Silnas Fortress’ city wall.
Faced with the towering walls of Silnas Fortress, the spirited human army remained unfazed.
Victor was quite pleased by this, feeling a surge of confidence within.
To be honest, upon first seeing the magnificent wall of Silnas Fortress standing over twenty meters tall, he had entertained thoughts of retreat.
Such a high wall—this fortress would truly be a tough nut to crack.
And just looking at the fortress’s size, this was only the outer wall; even if they breached it, there was still the Inner Fortress waiting for them.
However, seeing his troops’ high morale rekindled Victor’s confidence.
Everything depends on effort; as long as they wanted to, they could certainly pull it off.
Now that they were at the gates, there was no turning back, no matter what.
“Prepare the siege engines, ladders, and heavy catapults!”
With Victor’s command, the human army’s rear began bustling with activity, assembling massive siege ladders, impressive siege engines equipped with huge battering rams—bigger than an adult human’s waist—and intimidating heavy catapults.
The assembled siege ladder was even taller than the walls of Silnas Fortress, making it a real challenge to push up.
And it was perilous too.
But with walls this high, if the ladder didn’t exceed the height of the walls, how could the soldiers climb up and fight the enemies?
Next up was the siege engine—it may not be as tall as the siege ladder, but the massive battering ram protruding from the front made it look absolutely imposing.
The human army would use this battering ram to smash through Silnas Fortress’ gates.
Naturally, this ram had magical-breaking properties.
Thus, even if the elven race reinforced the gate with magic, it couldn’t completely halt the siege engine’s advance.
Finally, let’s talk about the heavy catapults; each of these was gigantic, incredibly powerful, and had an impressive range.
However, to use them, a lot of space was needed to set them up.
Therefore, such catapults could only be utilized in this siege scenario.
On the outer wall of Silnas Fortress, as the human army approached, Airael ignored Hela’s protests and rushed over with a large group of elves.
Although Airael hadn’t yet become a fully-fledged queen with real power, she was already a lord with significant authority.
Having power also gradually lent her some seriousness.
At least, she no longer felt disadvantaged when facing Hela, her teacher.
However, due to her height, Airael had to stand on a stone platform to clearly see the approaching human army.
From her elevated position, combined with the elven race’s impressive vision, Airael could clearly observe what the human army was doing.
Upon seeing the preparations of the siege ladders, siege engines, and heavy catapults, Airael exclaimed, “They are assembling siege weapons!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Hela replied, equally observing the scene.
Her mood was heavy.
These siege weapons were not good news for the elves.
These siege weapons could help the humans counter to some degree the advantage their city walls offered the elven race.
“Is there a way to destroy them?” Airael asked.
She fully understood the importance of these siege weapons to the humans.
Especially the siege engine tasked with attacking the gates.
Once the gates were breached, the demoralizing impact would be enormous, not to mention the rest.
“It’s very difficult! The humans will protect them well,” Hela replied.
Airael realized she had asked a foolish question.
But looking at the increasingly assembled siege weapons, her heart was indeed uncomfortable.
The greater the advantage for humans, the lesser the elven advantage seemed.
Just then, Lov, the commander, rushed over, looking quite anxious. “Your Majesty, this place is very dangerous; please quickly return to the fortress!”
Airael smiled nonchalantly as she looked at Lov and said, “Lov, it’s fine. With you protecting me, I feel very safe. Besides, the battle hasn’t even started yet, right?”
“But once the battle begins, it’ll be too late; it will be hard to ensure your safety!” Lov insisted.
In response, Airael tightly grasped the Staff of Eternity, emphasizing, “Lov, I can take care of myself. Moreover, my presence can clearly tell our soldiers that the queen is fighting alongside them!”
Additionally, Airael had her own thoughts in mind.
While war is brutal, she also knew it could be an excellent test for an elf’s abilities.
Since this war was unavoidable, she might as well use it to accelerate her own growth!
Lov looked at the Staff of Eternity, then at Airael, realizing the truth in her words.
Yet, he still intended to stand his ground.
Having self-defense capabilities was one thing; it didn’t mean she should remain in such a dangerous spot.
In such a perilous situation, even the strongest self-defense might fail.
Moreover, precisely because you are the queen, we must ensure your safety.
Facing a general deeply concerned for her safety, Airael knew she couldn’t make things too difficult, so she suggested, “How about this, Lov? Let’s compromise. If there’s anything amiss when the battle starts, I’ll leave the wall immediately, alright?”
“Fine! But Your Majesty, please be sure to prioritize your safety; your safety is more important than anything!”
Seeing Airael take a step back, Lov knew he couldn’t be too stiff.
So, Airael was able to stay on the wall without further issue.
But she remained quite safe, indeed.
Her petite frame meant that only a small head was visible over the wall, and once she jumped down from the stone platform, not even a hair would be exposed—making it hard for the human soldiers below to spot her.
Once she tucked into a corner, the thick wall would help shield her from most attacks.
In this scenario, being small and having a petite figure proved beneficial.
Time slowly passed, and more and more siege devices were assembled by the human army.
However, there were still only one or two siege engines; the rest were those tall siege ladders and the hefty catapults of considerable size.
In truth, purely magical-breaking weapons were hard to produce, especially such a massive battering ram, which required astonishing expenses.
Actually, money wasn’t the main issue; the key was sourcing materials.
Such precious materials could be said to be rare and hard to find, particularly in wartime—having money didn’t guarantee one could buy them.
