Chapter 67: The Siege Begins
After spending some time assembling the siege equipment, the human army finally commenced their assault on the fortress.
While the siege ladders and siege engines were being assembled, the catapults, those magnificent tools of destruction, had already been set up at the forefront by the humans.
Notably, these catapults were significantly larger than the usual ones.
This reinforced version of the catapult could hurl even heftier stones than the standard models.
Moreover, their range was even greater.
Thus, they were currently stationed safely beyond the reach of the Elven guards on the walls.
Nearby each reinforced catapult, mounds of large stones were piled up.
These massive boulders were intended to be launched at the Elven forces shortly.
Standing on the walls, Airael could clearly see the human soldiers struggling to transport the giant stones.
“Your Majesty, danger!”
Before Airael could react, Hela had already pulled her down to crouch.
In the corner, Hela shielded Airael beneath herself.
The Royal Palace Guards quickly joined them against the wall.
Facing such colossal stones, standing firm would only lead to trouble.
Being struck meant a certainty of injury, or worse, possibly being left crippled.
Not only the Royal Palace Guards, but other Elven soldiers began to hide as well.
One by one, they squished themselves into corners, using the city walls as cover.
“Fire!”
Once the stones were all in place, the humans’ catapults began unleashing their fury upon Silnas Fortress under the officer’s command.
Huge stones sliced through the air with a thunderous “boom,” crashing down toward Silnas Fortress with an unstoppable might.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!…”
Moments later, many of the giant stones struck the towering city walls of Silnas Fortress.
A thick cloud of dust erupted as debris flew into the air.
Feeling the intense tremors from the walls and hearing the resounding booms nearby, Airael was momentarily dizzy.
Her heart was shaken.
Although she had previously witnessed the brutality of war from afar, understanding that life is the cheapest currency in such conflicts, it was only now, in the midst of battle, that Airael truly comprehended that feeling.
To emerge safely from the battlefield required more than just skill; it demanded a stroke of immense luck.
This was utterly horrifying!
After the initial barrage of colossal stone attacks, the humans did not cease their assault.
The human soldiers continued transporting massive stones, loading them onto the catapults.
Taking advantage of the catapults’ protection, some of the siege ladders began to advance slowly behind the human ranks, creaking ominously as they moved.
At this moment, the towering siege ladders resembled enormous luggage, standing several layers high, each level connected by wooden rungs, now filled with human soldiers.
Once those pushing the siege ladders managed to bring them to the wall’s edge, the soldiers on the ladders would instantly spring into action against the Elven soldiers stationed atop the walls.
However, the Elven soldiers on the walls were currently crouching low, unaware that the humans’ formal assault had already begun.
Even though catapults were notoriously inaccurate, no one was willing to gamble their life on that fact.
After all, it was entirely possible that the catapults, despite not aiming for them, could accidentally hit their own side.
Such a stroke of bad luck was certainly not out of the question.
Remember, anything is possible!
It wasn’t until an Elven soldier peeked out during a brief lull that they noticed the human assault had officially begun and was rapidly approaching the city walls.
“Human soldiers are charging forward! Human soldiers are charging forward!…”
As the battle commander, Lov, heard the continuous shouts, he took the opportunity to raise his head.
He then saw multiple towering siege ladders swiftly advancing towards the high walls of Silnas Fortress, surrounded by a throng of human soldiers.
“Counterattack!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lov shouted loudly.
At this moment, several siege ladders had entered the firing range of the defensive weapons on the walls.
Hearing Lov’s command, the Elven soldiers immediately began to operate their defensive mechanisms.
In contrast, due to limited space, the quantity of catapults and ballistae on the walls was relatively small and compact, naturally resulting in restricted power and range.
Yet, any defense was better than none.
Under the Elven soldiers’ skillful operation, smaller stones and enormous magical bolts were launched toward the advancing human siege ladders.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!…”
Thanks to the Elven sharpshooters’ talents, many stones and bolts found their marks.
The weight of the stones created large holes as the magical bolts detonated after piercing the siege ladders.
But as siege ladders were designed to assist the main army in their assault, they were built sturdily and were treated for fire resistance.
Although the Elven attacks left multiple holes and inflicted some injury on the human soldiers, they did not severely compromise the ladders’ structural integrity.
Thus, the siege ladders merely paused briefly before moving forward again.
At that moment, the human catapults began to focus on the Elven defensive weapons.
Under concentrated fire, some of the defensive equipment, by sheer luck, was directly struck, instantly turning into a pile of rubble.
Nearby, Elven soldiers were caught in the fallout of flying debris and shockwaves, sustaining significant injuries.
This greatly diminished the Elven resistance.
Among the human ranks, Victor grinned at the steadily advancing human forces.
As long as they continued like this, victory was just around the corner!
However, everything was destined to disappoint Victor.
Although the Elven defenses on the walls had failed to halt the human advance, their greatest strength lay not atop the walls.
Inside the castle, in a clearing.
Under heavy protection from soldiers, Domiya once again began inscribing a powerful giant magic circle.
Yet the mages weren’t as elated as when they first encountered the giant magic circle.
While the initial stages were quite enjoyable, the subsequent feelings of emptiness were overwhelming for the Elves to bear.
But at this moment, they had no choice but to push on!
As a result, some Elves bore frowns on their faces.
Just the thought of experiencing that emptiness again dampened their spirits.
Domiya didn’t care how they felt and continued organizing the giant magic circle.
Experiencing that feeling of emptiness was still better than being defeated, captured, or even killed and humiliated!
