Chapter 689

After giving the attack order, Ludwig bit his lip in frustration as he stared at Or-han, who had begun a fierce battle with the three heroes once again.

Since his attempt to deceive Or-han into retreating or buying time had failed, the only path left for him was to engage in an all-out war.

The chances of victory were slim, and even if they miraculously won, the severe damage they would suffer was inevitable.

‘Damn it, everything’s gone to hell…’

Ludwig brought his trembling fingers to his lips, only then realizing that the magical cigarette between them had crumpled like a piece of paper.

He stomped on the crumpled cigarette, extinguishing it, and turned his head to look at the officers awaiting his orders.

Eyes trembling with anxiety and frustration. The command center, plunged into silence, was weighed down by the heavy fear of death.

Forcing himself to compose his expression, Ludwig spoke to the officers. Even though the situation was bleak, he couldn’t just give up and collapse.

“…How many civilians are left?”

“About 40%. We halted the evacuation after observing Ka`har’s forces…”

One officer reflexively answered.

Upon arriving in the city, the Imperial Army had informed the citizens that the Kingdom of Dane had abandoned them, convincing the despairing civilians to become Imperial citizens and evacuating them to the next city.

They couldn’t leave those who had chosen the Empire over the Kingdom in a city that was about to become a battlefield, and since the number of civilians capable of fighting was negligible, leaving them here would only waste resources.

Thus, 60% of the civilians had been evacuated. Due to Ka`har’s rapid advance, it was impossible to evacuate everyone.

If they sent civilians outside the walls while the enemy was watching, they would be mercilessly slaughtered.

“Arm them. It’s better to give them spears than to have them resist with kitchen knives and pitchforks.”

“What about deploying the civilians on the walls? Even if they’re just the elderly and women, there are over ten thousand of them…”

“It’s pointless. It will only lower the soldiers’ morale.”

Ludwig shook his head. Giving spears to the elderly, children, and women and sending them to the frontlines wouldn’t help; they wouldn’t be able to fight effectively.

Even if ten of them charged, they couldn’t kill a single Ka`har soldier. Deploying them on the walls would only result in screams and slaughter, lowering the Imperial Army’s morale.

Ludwig’s order to arm them wasn’t to use them as soldiers but to give them a chance to resist the inevitable plunder by Ka`har after the Imperial Army’s defeat.

Once the battle began, even if the civilians surrendered without resistance, Ka`har wouldn’t accept their surrender.

“After arming the civilians, burn all the supplies in the warehouses except for two days’ worth.”

Ludwig’s second order was to burn most of the food stored in the warehouses. This was also a precaution for after their defeat.

In a typical defensive war, they would gather as many supplies as possible and hold out, but their current situation was far from typical.

Or-han had declared he would take the city within two hours, and his forces were charging at full speed to make that a reality.

Cavalry charging at the walls—such a tactic would have been considered madness just a few years ago.

The standard strategy to take a castle was to surround it completely and wait for the defenders’ supplies to run out.

But that was a strategy of a bygone era.

In this age, where individuals could leap over walls and break through gates alone, castles were no longer impregnable fortresses but mere obstacles.

Or-han’s mention of two hours meant he was confident he could take the city in less than that.

Thus, Ludwig ordered most of the food supplies burned. If they lost, those supplies would fall into enemy hands and sustain them.

He left two days’ worth of food as a precaution, but even that would be burned if defeat seemed certain.

If by some miracle they won, they would have to survive on two days’ worth of food until supplies arrived from another city.

As the officers hurried off to carry out his orders, Ludwig turned his gaze back outside.

Toward the Ka`har siege forces charging at the walls amidst a cloud of dust.

======[ Ai-shan ]======

“Increase your speed! Kagan is waiting for us!”

War Chief Hatan, leading the siege group, deflected the incoming arrows and shouted.

“Ooooh!”

Responding to their commander’s cry, the warriors spurred their horses and charged even faster. They raised shields hung from their saddles to block arrows, sometimes swinging their spears to deflect them.

Some even maneuvered their horses to dodge the arrows while simultaneously shooting back at the archers on the walls.

“Ahhh!”

Imperial soldiers screamed and fell as they were sniped by the mounted archers’ arrows.

Ka`har’s short bows were small enough to be used easily on horseback yet powerful enough to surpass the Imperial Army’s longbows.

Even arrows shot at an angle could pierce the Imperial soldiers’ armor like paper.

“Don’t lean out from behind the shields! Take cover!”

Knights wielding swords and shields pointed to the large shields they had set up earlier, barking orders.

“Quick, hide! Arrows incoming!”

Soldiers hastily hid behind the shields and nocked new arrows. Occasionally, arrows pierced the shields, but those that did had lost enough momentum to be stopped by the soldiers’ armor.

“These barbarian bastards—! Ugh…!”

Of course, when shooting arrows, they had no choice but to expose their upper bodies, making them vulnerable to sniping.

—

Ka`har wasn’t without losses.

They had the skill to block or deflect arrows, but they couldn’t charge through a hail of arrows unscathed.

Since they couldn’t deploy their elite heavy cavalry for such a reckless strategy, most of the siege cavalry wore light armor or none at all.

Unlike the Black King, who could catch arrows with his teeth and deflect them with his hooves, ordinary horses couldn’t withstand the arrow barrage without armor.

“Ugh…!”

“Heeheeheehee!”

Grassland people struck in vital spots by stray arrows collapsed with death cries, and horses with arrows in their heads or chests lost strength, throwing their riders to the ground.

Even the Ka`har soldiers, renowned for their horsemanship, had no solution when their horses died beneath them.

Even if they jumped off quickly, they would lose their balance upon landing and be trampled by other horses.

The best they could do was spread out to minimize losses.

“Keep charging! The walls are close!”

War Chief Hatan urged his troops forward, leading the charge toward the city gates.

Unlike the Berengeiria Wall, the city walls were low enough to be leaped over in a single bound, but that was only possible for warriors, not their horses.

Thus, the only way for the cavalry to enter the city was to break through the tightly shut gates.

‘I’ll break them!’

Hatan raised his Crescent Moon Blade high, pouring his soul into the blade.

“I’ll open the way! Don’t stop, follow me!”

His Conceptual Manifestation, the Power of a Thousand Autumns, infused the blade.

A technique that amplified the weapon’s weight to unleash overwhelming slashing power.

To Hatan, the weight felt no different, but the force behind the Crescent Moon Blade was dozens of times greater than a normal strike.

“Kaaaaah!”

Finally reaching the gates, Hatan roared and swung his arms down. The hero’s blade, carrying the force of a thousand pounds, descended.

– Kwaaaaaaang!

Like a direct hit from a dwarven siege cannon, the iron barricade was torn apart with a deafening explosion, and the massive gates, several meters high, were blown to pieces.

Shattered wood fragments shot into the city like throwing spears, crushing the Imperial soldiers stationed there.

“Ahhh!”

“The gates are breached!”

With the gates reduced to rubble, Hatan leaped over the debris and shouted triumphantly.

“Kill every Imperial in sight!Carve our name, our terror,into the hearts of the Empire’s dogs!”

“Long live Ai-shan!”

“The enemy army’s Paladin, Giahun, is here!”

Following War Chief Hatan, Ka`har’s Paladins, warriors, and cavalry began pouring through the gates into the city.