Ch.311Ballista

“What the hell, are they firing a ballista?!”

“Can a ballista fire this quickly?! That’s impossible!”

The confused werebeasts shouted in alarm. It wasn’t their first time seeing such massive arrows.

They had faced the humans’ giant mechanical crossbows, ballistae, several times at the North Wall.

Though powerful, ballistae took over twenty seconds to reload, giving them plenty of time to close in. The wounds they inflicted were comparable to being stabbed with a sword.

While the impact force was incomparable, what threatened them most wasn’t projectiles concentrated on a single point, but slashing attacks that carved through wide areas.

But the arrows flying at them now were on a completely different level.

Different in power, area of destruction, and even firing rate.

This was only natural. Unlike ballistae that required cranking mechanisms for reloading, Millia simply had to draw her bowstring and release, just as she normally would.

And since she was firing by hand, she could employ various techniques to enhance the power.

Spiral arrow.

The rotating arrows from her great bow created swirling currents of air that didn’t just penetrate their targets but completely carved out everything around them.

“Who cares what it is! Counter-attack! Target that watchtower!”

Three catapults remained. While the werebeasts frantically adjusted their aim, another arrow flew in, spraying a mist of blood.

“Arrrgh!”

“Fire! Shoot it down!”

Ice projectiles launched in retaliation traced parabolic arcs over the walls.

—-

‘Their counterattack is faster than I expected.’

Millia inhaled as she nocked her fourth massive arrow.

Her great bow, twice her height, creaked as it bent dramatically. The surrounding soldiers couldn’t hide their amazement.

It was a sight they’d never witnessed before. Warriors who reached mastery as archers were extremely rare.

In fact, unless they were elves, such individuals hadn’t appeared among humans for decades.

There were certainly talented archers, but the Empire of knights didn’t value them highly.

At best, they were considered soldiers’ weapons. Some knights occasionally used bows, but only as secondary weapons.

Only the Eastern Army, which faced the Ka’har, paid any attention to archery.

Even they preferred developing heavy cavalry rather than focusing on serious archery training.

Thus, almost no one knew how powerful an archer who had reached mastery solely through archery could be.

Except for those witnessing it here today.

“One will hit directly. Everyone be careful.”

After speaking, Millia twisted her bowstring.

Her eyes coldly tracked the incoming chunk of ice.

Northern ice was harder than stone, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be shattered.

Millia raised her bow slightly and released the fully drawn string.

– THOOOOM!

The sound of the bowstring was like an explosion.

The violent recoil created a wind that whipped her clothes. Millia slid backward slightly.

The fourth arrow shot forth like divine thunder.

The sound was so intense that even the deaf would wince.

The ice chunk shattered to dust when struck by the arrowhead. The falling ice fragments scattered the moonlight, creating a dazzling sparkle.

“Now!”

Millia shouted sharply as she stepped back from the watchtower window and lowered her stance.

She had successfully intercepted one ice chunk, but another was approaching the watchtower unimpeded.

Unfortunately, there was no time to fire a fifth arrow.

“Everyone down! There’s still one more!”

The soldiers urgently flattened themselves against the floor.

They didn’t fear the tower would collapse from a single hit, but projectiles were still projectiles. Bad luck could mean flying fragments piercing their bodies. Even if that didn’t happen, they needed to brace for the impact that would shake the tower, unless they wanted to fall to their deaths like the soldiers on the wall.

“Magic battalion! Protect the watchtower!”

Karl shouted at the mages while looking back. Though he was astonished by Millia’s power, he hadn’t forgotten his duty.

The mages, following his order, unleashed their spells using the mana they had gathered earlier.

Spheres of flame enveloped the ice, melting it, while gusts of wind from above pressed down on the projectile, altering its trajectory.

The ice chunk, now half its original size, grazed the watchtower and embedded itself in the ground. The soldiers inside the watchtower sighed with relief.

Millia stood up again and drew her fifth arrow.

Twenty-five arrows remained. With targets aplenty, killing them would be easier than hunting kobolds. More enjoyable, too.

‘Masters are truly amazing. Did Haschal feel like this too?’

A smile crept across her face.

—-

“Charge! The prey is right before us!”

Though the catapults they had worked so hard to bring were being destroyed helplessly, the charging werebeasts no longer cared about such things. They only ran forward, toward the enemy. Until they lost their heads and fell on the snow. The humans’ attacks began raining down on them.

“Fire! It’s time to repay our debt from the North Wall!”

The ballistae mounted on the walls simultaneously fired their massive arrows.

Unlike the North Wall, there were only sixty of them, but while they hadn’t had a chance to use them during Rurik’s assault, now they had plenty of time.

“Gaaah!”

Sixty giant arrows pierced through unfortunate werebeasts and embedded themselves in the ground. The struck beasts fell backward, bleeding.

Unlike Millia’s sniping, these could at best take down a single werebeast. Even then, only half-bloods died instantly.

“Spread out and charge! Once we reach the wall, the ballistae are useless! Lyudmila! Can you intercept them?”

“I could, but isn’t that more dangerous?”

Lyudmila, running alongside Rurik, pointed toward the watchtower.

In her view, a single arrow from there was more powerful than all sixty ballistae.

For now, they were targeting the catapults, but with only one catapult remaining, they would surely target the werebeasts next.

Those spiraling giant arrows that only a Champion could counter.

“I’ll block the sniper! You focus on destroying the ballistae first!”

“If you say so.”

Lyudmila nodded and drew a spear from her back, raising it above her shoulder. Her right arm visibly swelled.

She too was confident in ranged combat.

Unlike bows that required maintenance, throwing spears were perfectly usable even in the northern snowfields.

“Kyaaaah!”

The spear shot like lightning.

The steel shaft flew diagonally upward and pierced through a ballista that had peeked over the wall, tearing off the upper body of the soldier who had been aiming it.

“Direct hit!”

“Of course.”

Lyudmila brushed off Abigeyl’s excitement and immediately grabbed a new spear.

She had seven spears strapped to her back. Not just her, but all the warriors following her as well. All of those weapons were for her use alone.

The ballistae began to be destroyed one after another by the relentless spear throws.

The mages tried to block them with barrier spells, but their barriers couldn’t withstand a Champion’s spears for even a moment.

Even attempts to alter the trajectory with wind magic failed due to the spears’ incredible speed.

“Urrrgh…!”

Meanwhile, the fallen werebeasts gradually rose, gripping the arrow shafts embedded in their bodies.

The arrowheads, splayed like harpoons, were designed to be difficult to remove once embedded, but they gritted their teeth and pulled out both arrows and chunks of flesh at once.

The werebeasts rose again despite grimacing and groaning in pain.

Wounds from silver arrows didn’t regenerate easily, but it was just one hit. As long as no vital spots were hit, they could still move somehow.

—-

‘A Champion… troublesome as expected. No choice then.’

Karl clicked his tongue as he watched the ballistae being destroyed helplessly, then turned to the mages.

“Stop defending! Don’t waste mana needlessly! We’re abandoning the ballistae! Prepare attack spells!”

Karl gave up on the ballistae.

If the mages couldn’t protect them, there was no other option.

“Artillery units, fall back! Don’t stick your heads out! Archers, commence firing! Lord Noah! Get ready! They’ll reach the walls soon!”

The ballistae hastily withdrew behind the walls.

They could no longer fire downward in this situation, but that was better than being meaninglessly destroyed. If preserved, they could still be used against enemies who made it onto the walls.

“Paladin order, prepare for battle! Priests, cast the Miracle of Silver Moon on them!”

Noah, a high paladin of the Church of Menes, shouted as he drew his sword. Though the enemies weren’t yet close enough to climb up, considering the werebeasts Champions’ agility, they needed to prepare in advance.

“Dream mirror illuminating the night sky. Bestow your light upon them!”

As if the moon had risen above the ground, a silver holy light brilliantly illuminated the top of the wall.

The Miracle of Silver Moon cast by the priests of Menes enveloped the knights. The paladins also cast Silver Moon on themselves.

Silver Moon.

A miracle that imbued weapons with Menes’s power, blocking werebeasts’ regenerative abilities.

This miracle alone was enough to establish the Church of Menes as the North’s premier church, despite their lack of proper ranged attack methods.

Once the effects of Silver Moon became known, even the previously dominant Church of Volberg was immediately overshadowed.