Chapter 326

Everyone had heard of it.

The monstrous catapult in Celtrine Castle.

It was a weapon that had left a deep impression on the Crown Prince’s army.

But no one had imagined that it would suddenly appear before Odinel.

Because they had also heard that it was too large to be used offensively.

It had made its debut in a defensive battle.

And it had performed brilliantly in that defensive battle.

So it had become known as a defensive weapon.

Since the Crown Prince was currently marching towards Celtrine Castle with an army of fifty thousand, the monstrous catapult should have been there, defending the castle.

That’s what everyone thought.

Until that belief was shattered before their very eyes.

*CRASH!*

The second boulder, unfortunately, struck the lord’s chambers directly.

Or perhaps it was fortunate.

The boulder crashed through the ceiling and landed right beside Count Odinel’s bed, narrowly missing him.

*BOOM!*

“Aaaaaargh?!”

Count Odinel screamed in terror.

At first, he thought he was hearing things.

But he wasn’t.

This wasn’t a hallucination.

It was reality.

A terrifying reality that was no different from hell.

“W-What… What is this…?!”

He scrambled around in a panic.

It was a natural reaction.

Anyone would react the same way if a giant boulder suddenly crashed through their ceiling and landed beside them while they were resting.

“M-My lord! W-We’re under attack!”

The steward rushed into the room, his face just as pale as Count Odinel’s.

“Y-Yes! W-What’s happening?!”

“W-We’re under attack! B-Boulders are raining down on us! They’re still coming!”

“U-Under attack?! What are the defenders doing?!”

“I-I don’t know, my lord! E-Everything is in chaos…”

*BOOOOOM!*

Another explosion rocked Odinel Castle.

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Eeeeeeek!”

“R-Run!”

“H-Help me!”

Screams of terror and agony filled the air.

It was pure chaos.

Count Odinel snapped out of his daze.

He realized that if he didn’t do anything, Odinel Castle would be destroyed.

And most importantly,

“Steward! The granary! Mobilize all available manpower and move the grain to a safe location!”

The grain stored in Odinel’s granary.

It was Odinel’s most valuable treasure.

Especially in times of war.

There was a reason why the Crown Prince’s forces had chosen this place as their main supply base.

“Huh? B-But the evacuation of the residents should be our top priority…”

“If anything happens to the grain, the Crown Prince will kill me! He’ll kill my entire family!”

Count Odinel roared, his eyes burning with fear.

He had been one of the officials present when the Crown Prince had captured the Imperial City.

He had seen it with his own eyes.

How the Crown Prince had mercilessly executed even his own siblings without batting an eye.

Would such a man spare someone who had lost his precious grain?

Impossible.

He would kill them all.

So he had to protect the grain at all costs.

“Do you understand?!”

“Y-Yes, my lord!”

“Move now!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The steward rushed out of the room.

Count Odinel gritted his teeth and ran towards the stables.

He had to go to the defenders.

What were they doing while this disaster was unfolding?

*Neigh!*

A moment later, he was galloping towards the defenders stationed along the Lime River.

* * *

Miles, the captain of the Iron Lion Knights.

He had experienced his fair share of battles, but he had never been this flustered.

Anyone would be, if they were suddenly attacked in a way they had never even imagined.

His judgment had been clouded.

“C-Captain! Odinel is in danger!”

His lieutenant, who had finally regained his composure, said urgently.

“I know!”

Miles snapped, his face contorted in frustration.

Odinel was being bombarded by the monstrous catapult.

But he was still struggling to come up with a solution because there was no easy answer.

Their arrows couldn’t reach the catapult.

It meant that there was no way to attack it from a distance.

The only option left was to cross the river and attack the catapult directly.

But it was a foolish strategy that he was hesitant to employ.

It would mean abandoning the natural barrier of the Lime River and launching a reckless attack.

Even a fool wouldn’t do that.

That’s why Miles was stuck, unable to make a decision.

He desperately hoped for one thing.

For the catapult to run out of boulders.

If they could just hold out until then, they could minimize the damage and maintain their advantage of the Lime River.

They could protect Odinel.

‘Yes, they can’t have many boulders. We just have to endure…’

He steeled his resolve.

But,

The catapult’s bombardment showed no signs of stopping.

He could see Odinel Castle being reduced to rubble.

“Captain! W-We have to do something!”

His lieutenant pleaded again.

“Ugh.”

But Miles still couldn’t make a decision, his lips pressed into a thin line.

It was then that,

*Neigh!*

A horse came to a sudden stop, its rider swaying precariously.

It was Count Odinel.

He shouted as soon as he approached Miles, “What are you doing, Captain Miles?! Odinel will be destroyed at this rate!”

“It’s a difficult situation to deal with…”

Miles muttered.

“Difficult? What do you mean difficult?! We have to cross the river and destroy that damn catapult!”

“But if we do that, we’ll lose our strategic advantage…”

“Strategic advantage?! We’re all going to die! The granary, everything! If anything happens to the grain, do you think you’ll be safe? If you don’t want to be executed by the Crown Prince, do something about that catapult!”

Count Odinel shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

His life was on the line, so he had lost all reason.

The lieutenant seized the opportunity and said, “Captain, the priority is to destroy that monstrous catapult. We should cross the river, destroy it, and then return. That way, we can maintain our advantage of the river.”

Fighting a field battle against an army of forty thousand with only five thousand soldiers was reckless and foolish.

But if they narrowed their target to the catapult,

If they focused all their forces on attacking and destroying the catapult, it was possible.

Of course, they would suffer casualties, but the benefits of destroying the catapult outweighed the risks.

‘Ugh, I guess there’s no other choice. I have to gamble.’

Miles’s resolve wavered.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Odinel be destroyed.

“Everyone, board the ships! We’re crossing the river! We’re going to destroy that damn catapult!”

He finally gave the order to cross.

* * *

“Time to reel them in.”

Max said with a smirk as he watched the defenders boarding the ships.

“How many?”

Regina asked.

“About half should be enough.”

“That sounds about right.”

If their goal was to defend, they could simply prevent the enemy from crossing the river.

But their goal wasn’t to defend.

Their goal was to conquer Odinel.

And to do that, they needed to inflict heavy casualties on the defenders.

And to do that, they needed to lure them in.

So they could strike them all at once.

“They finally took the bait. Just in time.”

Regina said, a glint in her eyes.

Miles’s judgment hadn’t been wrong.

They were indeed running out of boulders.

They didn’t have many left.

“Because I attacked Odinel.”

Max replied with a grin.

Most people would have attacked the defenders first if they had a weapon like the Turtle Catapult.

Because they were the immediate threat.

But Max hadn’t done that.

He had attacked Odinel instead.

Because he knew,

That attacking the defenders wouldn’t lure them out.

They would simply retreat.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing if they could cross the river while the defenders were retreating, but they didn’t have any ships or bridges.

It would just mean inflicting some damage before they ran out of boulders.

Max wasn’t the type to be satisfied with such shortsighted gains.

He could see the bigger picture.

That’s why he had successfully lured the defenders out.

“The army can move, but Odinel can’t.”

Regina repeated the words Max had said before the war council.

But her expression was different now.

She had finally understood her fiancé’s meticulous strategy, which took into account even human psychology.

‘…I can’t help but admire him.’

She felt a strange stirring in her heart.

An unfamiliar emotion.

It was probably pure attraction.

She had thought that she would never find a man she could truly trust and rely on.

It wasn’t about her standards.

It was about her feelings.

But he was unexpectedly close.

And he was stirring her emotions.

“I deliberately made the area around the catapult seem vulnerable.”

His words interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes, so they would charge towards it like moths to a flame.”

“Then don’t hold back. The fewer casualties we suffer, the better.”

Max said jokingly.

“You too.”

Regina replied with a faint smile.

“They’re coming!”

Duncan’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield.

The time had finally come to execute the final stage of Max’s grand strategy.

* * *

“Push forward! Push forward and break through their lines!”

Miles shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

The enemy might have superior numbers, but they couldn’t fight them all at once.

He didn’t have to worry about the enemy soldiers in the rear.

He just had to focus on the enemies in front of him.

If they could just break through their lines, the path would be clear.

“There’s only one way to survive! If we seize that one chance, we win! I’ll open the path myself!”

He roared again, trying to boost his soldiers’ morale.

A commander who bravely led from the front.

It was a sight that couldn’t help but raise the soldiers’ spirits.

And the Iron Lion Knights, supporting Miles, pushed back the princess’s forces.

The valiant efforts of their strongest unit further boosted the soldiers’ morale.

And then,

“Charge!”

“We’re pushing them back! We’re winning!”

“They’re weaker than we thought!”

“We can do this! Let’s destroy that damn catapult!”

The defenders’ morale soared as they pushed back the princess’s forces.

But,

They didn’t realize that they were being lured in.

It was all a trap.

They were so caught up in their excitement that they charged all the way to the catapult.

It was then that,

Max finally raised his sword.

“Now! Wipe them out!”

The signal to attack.

The princess’s forces, who had been pretending to retreat, suddenly launched a fierce counterattack.

The defenders were caught off guard by their overwhelming power.

This was the true strength of the Erenbert soldiers, the best warriors in the empire.

They had been pretending to be weak, and now they were revealing their true strength.

And the resident unit, which had been guarding the area around the catapult, was even stronger.

The defenders, who had been about to reach the catapult, were stopped in their tracks, as if they had hit a wall.

No, they were being pushed back.

“W-What is this?!”

Miles’s face contorted in shock.

A chill ran down his spine.

He instinctively knew that they had fallen into a trap.

“R-Retreat! Back to the ships!”

He shouted, finally realizing the danger they were in.

But,

“It’s too late. You’re finished.”

Max said with a smirk.

The defenders were routed from three sides.

It was the end for Odinel.