Ch.159Chapter 159

People often think that those afflicted with madness become violent and stop listening to others.

However, that’s just the most common case among the mad, not true of everyone. Besides, wasn’t Dencan already quite insane even before being provoked?

Madness is like wine; when aged over many years, its flavor naturally intensifies.

To call Dencan an ordinary madman would be an insult to someone who began by merely mentioning that name in his diary and eventually succeeded in creating an almost perfect manifestation of Dario Kaffustin through his imagination alone.

As a high-caliber madman, Dencan responded to Dario’s provocation in a more distinctive way.

“The King of Manheimr and I are destined never to share the same sky. All members of the clan must mobilize their full resources and converge on the holy ground as soon as the great plan begins.”

Even though Wendigo had conquered several castles and fortresses, and the army entrusted to Darius had been annihilated, Dencan’s clan remained intact.

The time they had waited in the shadows of history was by no means short. This meant they had focused on building wealth, resources, and soldiers for a long time.

Dencan decided to forget about the aftermath of war and draw out all his power to concentrate on this battle.

His attitude was so resolute that his clan judged he must have profound intentions and faithfully followed his orders.

‘This time you absolutely cannot escape. Once the King of Manheimr dies, the only place you can go is to me—’

…While the depth of his thoughts approached that of an abyss, they were indeed profound as his clan believed.

The concentrated power and resources of the clan, a love-struck warrior filled with fighting spirit, and zealous clan members with fanatical beliefs.

All this happened because of Dario’s provocation. Listing it like this might make it seem like Dario had only done his enemies a favor, but that wasn’t entirely the case.

The fact that the enemies had gathered in one place also meant an opportunity to wipe them out at once. And…

“That seems to be all the advantages that come to mind. Why did I have to provoke them…”

When Wendigo grumbled, Dario cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Even with his thick skin, he had no excuse this time.

It had been a regrettable mistake to think all madmen were the same kind of madman.

The one fortunate thing was that Dencan wasn’t the only one who had made thorough preparations.

The army under Wendigo’s command had joined forces to capture Dencan’s main base. No one was foolish enough to try looting castles or fortresses while others were struggling.

Everyone knew that they could gain so much with minimal losses thanks to Wendigo.

Having witnessed his power up close multiple times, there were few who harbored unnecessary greed.

Those few… well, honorable subordinates had to behead them—not because they didn’t want to die alongside them, but because they had to maintain honor.

Moreover…

“Engineer friends, are you really saying that with just these catapults, Your Majesty won’t have to struggle to destroy all the walls and gates?”

“O-of course. Why else would lords pay us such high wages if we couldn’t do at least that much?”

“Hahaha! My heart is pounding just thinking about climbing up to the walls on that moving tower!”

People were also among the items looted from castles. As the rough warriors laughed and patted their backs, the engineers forced awkward smiles and made bold claims.

Wendigo believed the engineers to some extent. Even to him, Dencan’s main base didn’t seem like such an impressive castle.

It wasn’t a fortress on a cliff that looked as if carved by the Creator God, nor was it like an isolated island on land built over a vast lake.

Dencan’s main base was just a larger castle built on a wide plain compared to previous ones.

Wendigo stroked his chin while looking at the castle. No matter how he thought about it, something seemed off.

‘Why build the main base in such a place? With enough ability and time, they could have chosen better land.’

It was almost instinctual for those in power to ensure their own safety.

Those who abandoned such instincts weren’t rulers but merely stands for crowns. After all, how difficult could it be to kill someone if it meant gaining power?

‘The only reason that comes to mind is lack of ability, but I don’t think this Dencan is incapable of even that much. His loyalty was impressive.’

Even Darius, in his final moments, chose to taunt Dencan rather than betray him. Considering that action alone, while his devotion to Dencan might be questionable, his loyalty to the clan was absolute.

‘Opposition from the privileged class can be dismissed for the same reason. Above all, this is a castle, not a city—how powerful could the vested interests be?’

If it wasn’t due to lack of ability or opposition from nobles or knights…

“It’s clear that something important must be in this castle. Skadi, do you sense anything?”

“It seems a very complex spell is being cast. There’s massive mystical energy fluctuating, making it difficult to identify what kind of spell it is, but it’s definitely not an ordinary one.”

Skadi, with her spiritual vision open, spoke while reading the massive flow surrounding the castle. Her voice carried a hint of admiration.

This was the first time she had encountered such a large-scale spell among all the magic she had experienced.

The deliberation wasn’t long. If they couldn’t tell what the enemy was preparing, the quickest way to find out was to strike and see.

Wendigo raised his hand and waved it forward.

Dario blew forcefully into a golden-plated horn he had acquired from somewhere. As the heavy sound announcing war echoed across the field, warriors charged forward with battle cries.

“Worship the great king who bestows gold and treasures upon us!”

“Let’s see how well these things made by ink-stained scholars work!”

“W-we’re not ink-stained scholars but carp—”

The engineers’ minor complaints were drowned out by the heavy footsteps of warriors and the sound of catapults being fired.

The warriors looked at the castle walls with expectant eyes as they watched the massive projectiles cutting through the air.

The moment those stones hit, the walls would crumble, and they would ravage their enemies!

KWAAANG!

The advancing warriors cheered as the launched stones exploded simultaneously with a thunderous noise.

But…

“That’s right! Just like the ink-stained scholars promised, a loud noise…?”

“What! Why are the rocks shattering in mid-air!”

“Did those lazy bastards just bring hollow rocks because they were too lazy?”

Despite the thunderous noise, not a single stone hit the castle walls. The debris from the shattered rocks fell in an arc.

The engineers were horrified by this sight and loaded more rocks to fire the catapults again. But the result didn’t change.

Once again, the rapidly flying rocks didn’t reach the castle walls and exploded in mid-air.

Naturally, the engineers and nobles were devastated. One impatient noble grabbed an engineer by the collar and berated him.

“I wondered why you cooperated so easily… Now I see you’re loyal servants to your master! Did you want to give us one last insult before dying?”

“W-we’re just hired engineers! We don’t know why the rocks are breaking eith—”

“You call that an explanation?!”

As the nobles’ gazes grew sharp, the engineers trembled like newborn goat kids. Wendigo shook his head and calmed the noble down.

“Listening to them, I don’t think they’re lying. Making stones shatter just before reaching the walls is beyond their capabilities anyway.”

With Wendigo’s intervention, the noble gave the engineers one last fierce glare before releasing their collars. Despite his irritation, he wasn’t reckless enough to be disrespectful in front of the king.

The engineers expressed deep gratitude and continued operating the catapults.

Watching the flying rocks, Wendigo found something strange about the soldiers on the castle walls in his peripheral vision.

‘Why aren’t they attacking?’

He could easily guess why the catapults weren’t effective. With a large-scale spell being cast, it was likely one of its effects.

However, he couldn’t fathom why the enemies weren’t attacking when a barrier-like spell was in place.

They could inflict one-sided damage on his forces just by firing arrows…

“Your Majesty, now that our warriors are close to the walls, using catapults might harm our own troops.”

“Stop the catapults and advance the siege towers.”

In the end, the catapults didn’t make much of an impact. Instead, the siege towers that the engineers had painstakingly crafted began advancing toward the castle walls.

That’s when it happened. As the warriors reached the walls, the soldiers, as if they had been waiting, began firing arrows down at them.

The intensity was so fierce that the warriors struggled even to raise their ladders.

Observing this, Wendigo could roughly deduce one of Dencan’s preparations.

“It seems the spell they’ve cast only blocks attacks from outside the boundary. And the effect applies in both directions.”

“Oh no… With the siege towers, we can break through, but the casualties will be significant.”

Dario spoke with a voice filled with guilt.

Even if he hadn’t provoked the enemy, they would have used such a useful spell anyway, but he didn’t think he was blameless.

This was a concern and self-reproach that the old Dario, who didn’t care about the well-being of his people, would never have shown.

As a final test, Wendigo created an ice spear and threw it toward the castle wall. The spear, flying like lightning, terrified the soldiers guarding the wall.

When the ice spear reached the boundary, an explosion occurred, and ice fragments scattered.

Like a droplet falling on a calm lake, the previously invisible barrier rippled and revealed itself.

‘Throwing more would just waste time.’

Having reached his conclusion, Wendigo drew his ice sword. He slowly walked forward and gave his instructions.

“I entrust the overall command of the battlefield to Dario, who holds the highest position.”

“What?!”

Suddenly entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, Dario pointed at his own face in shock.

While he had studied tactics and strategy, he didn’t have much experience, so it was natural for him to feel burdened.

Of course, Wendigo had considered this.

He entrusted the command to Dario because he believed he wouldn’t push warriors into battle out of vanity, not because he expected brilliant strategies.

“The commanders of each unit will follow Dario’s orders, but they have the right to provide appropriate advice depending on the situation, and the authority to refuse Dario’s orders and act according to their judgment.”

There were those here who had been beheading enemies on battlefields since Dario was an infant. With their advice by Dario’s side, there was no reason he couldn’t command the army.

With the commanders also given some discretion, there was nothing to worry about.

Wendigo raised his ice sword forward and commanded:

“Messengers, tell one unit to clear a path toward that castle wall.”

“I will ensure with my life that no warrior blocks Your Majesty’s path.”

The messengers rode the swiftest horses toward the castle walls. Watching them, Skadi approached Wendigo’s side and smiled.

“I can’t let you go alone into an area where spells are being cast. May I join you?”

Wendigo silently extended his hand. She climbed onto his hand as if accustomed to it, and he carefully placed her on his shoulder.

With all preparations complete, Wendigo slowly began walking toward the castle wall.

* * *

“Trust the wall and trust the comrades standing beside you! Lord Dencan has spread a barrier for us, so the enemy’s catapults and spells cannot harm us!”

Knights standing on the castle wall encouraged the soldiers at the top of their lungs, spreading faith. Honestly, at first, even the knights were extremely worried.

They had lost many castles and fortresses, so the fear that the clan’s holy ground might also fall had taken root in a corner of their hearts.

However, that worry disappeared like it had been washed away when the incoming rocks shattered and the cursed King of Manheimr’s ice spear broke apart.

As long as they were with the clan’s barrier, the castle wall would not fall!

Dito, a knight of the Valforen family, walked along the castle wall, fervently praising Dencan. He raised his finger toward the sky and shouted:

“Lord Dencan watches over us. This castle where he resides will never fall—”

“Sir Knight, Sir Knight! Something terrible has happened!!!”

“…Who dares! Who is the insolent one interrupting my words!”

Interrupted mid-sentence, Dito couldn’t contain his anger and drew his sword, looking around. However, finding the source of the voice wasn’t easy.

The soldiers standing around him were firing arrows down the castle wall with pale faces.

Seeing their clearly terrified expressions, Dito strode toward them to scold his pathetic subordinates. He pushed aside one soldier and leaned over the castle wall.

“You cowards, what on earth did you see to make such girlish faces… KYAAAAK!?”

Dito screamed like a girl and fell back in shock. Wendigo, who had arrived unnoticed, was climbing up the castle wall.

Wendigo, digging his nails into the wall, asked Skadi:

“I think I just saw someone who looked like a knight.”

“I’m not sure. He seemed like a knight who was unusually scared?”

Skadi replied while blocking incoming arrows with an ice shield.

They were so relaxed that if one didn’t know the location, they might have thought they were out for a casual stroll.

The soldiers screamed at this surreal sight. They felt as if they were trapped in a nightmare.

“Shit, knock them down! If they climb up, we’re all dead!!!”

“A witch, it must be a witch controlling that monster! Kill that witch!!!”

The soldiers fired arrows until their fingers were torn. But mere arrows couldn’t stop the couple’s date—no, their advance.

An unstoppable death was slowly approaching them.