Chapter 474

The Black Demon King

Chapter 23: Holy Maiden of Helvetia

Episode 433: The Fifth Galahad War, Act Two

On the morning of the 20th day of Gloom. After the snowstorm passed the night before, the Crusaders began to move again.

“The main corps has finally arrived.”

Just like the first day of battle on the 16th day, I sat on top of the north wing castle wall on the right side. To be more precise, I was sitting on top of the wall where Taurus punched out a hole.

I was admiring the view from atop this 50-meter-high castle wall. A blanket of freshly piled up snow due to the blizzard was covering the battlefield as if trying to hide the aftermath of the previous battle. The enemies trudging through the brand-new snowfield was distinctly visible. The white equipment of the Crusade Army assimilated with the ground, creating a wavy snowfield.

However, even the accumulated snow could not cover the large wreckage — the wreckage of Sample Taurus that had been decorated with small heaps of snow. Whether the wreckage was meant to be recovered, or it was impossible to be recovered, remained a mystery since the Crusaders were bypassing it as if it was a mere obstacle lying on the battleground.

Almost directly below me was the crime scene where Lily killed the pilot, rendering the massive Taurus incapacitated. It had since been laying face down, slowly transforming into a mountain of snow. However, this mountain of snow would not help us in deterring enemy invasion.

If they intended to siege the castle, then they would easily advance over this pile.

“Wow, there are so many of them!”

“I can’t see the slave soldiers anymore. Did they run out of them?”

Standing to my right, Lily was sizing up the advancing enemy corps. The number of enemies seemed to fill a width of one kilometer on the snowfield.

The line of battle formed by the slave soldiers was systematically trained, and their march was overflowing with the strong volition of invasion.

The march was bristling with cross flags and long spears arranged closely together. The advancing countless soldiers’ footsteps resonated through the snowfield and echoed all the way up here.

The infantry of white surcoats familiarly resembled the Armor Knights that fought fiercely together with the white-robed sorcerers unit at the dry riverbed of Alsace.

They had not appeared yet, but perhaps this time, the Pegasus Knights would launch an airstrike. Indeed, it would be an all-out war.

“Oh, I see they have brought their weapon for castle siege as well. It seems like they are attempting a frontal attack.”

The infantry units were marching ahead on the thick layer of snow. Trailing behind them was a large weapon with wheels moving sluggishly.

It was a rectangular six-wheeler about the size of a truck with a sharp log covered with metal peeking from the tip, also known as a battering ram. The strong ancient gate would not break from one or two strikes, but what would become of it when being stricken continuously?

Additionally, there were ballistae mobilized by wagons, distinguishable from the worn-out ladders the slave soldiers carried. Huge siege ladders* were visible as well. The siege ladders resembled dozen-meter high square towers.

The soldiers would most likely climb up from the back of the contraption, and then operate the ladder attached at the very top of it. The ladder would be unfolded and leaned against the castle wall, acting as a bridge for them to trickle in and siege the castle that way.

However, the wall of Galahad castle stood a majestic height of 50 meters. It was not a trivial height that could be reached with ease … but they certainly would be able to reach the breaches in the wall beneath.

“They have small golems with them as well.”

“Golems that size are usable for civil engineering work as well. Because of their slow movements, I bet they are utilizing them for the siege battle where the opponents would be stationary.”

Well, they were indeed stronger and more powerful than people. Their sluggishness could easily be compensated, and they would be useful in certain scenarios. They did not seem to move at high speed like Fulltune Taurus with a booster. We would not stand a chance if such high-performance guys were mass-produced.

“I don’t think that alone can break the wall itself.”

“They could mobilize the sorcerers to give them a boost. The use of Magic Items for destructive blasts is possible as well. So don’t let your guard down!”

“I see, so staying close to the wall would be dangerous, too.”

We were outnumbered, and it would be almost impossible to hold our defense if they attack all at once. It would be wise to assume those chimera soldiers that climbed the wall so effortlessly were still around.

“— Look! The humans seem to finally start moving, so we should deploy Daidalos people earlier. Listen well, everyone! We shall never allow those who do foul play to step on the soil of Spada!”

Such a lively voice was heard from a distance away.

The owner of the voice was General Gesenburg who led the third corps of “Rampage” of the Spada Army. He was also in charge of the right side of the northern wing castle defense.

He had a mountain goat head with two majestic horns,  a long white beard like a dwarf, and his whole body was covered with snow-white fur.

His race was not a goat Beastfolk – he was a demon. He was none other than the higher class demon Baphomet.

Whenever I looked at General Gesenburg, I could see nothing but raw materials for robes. I missed the deceased “Baphomet Embrace”. I ended up wondering if I were to use that white Baphomet fur, would it give me some strengthening effects.

Putting my imagination aside, the demon general was to defend the breaches in the castle wall.

Somehow or other, the two holes in the castle wall had been repaired within the past three days. However, the quick fix was imperfect. The repaired parts were much more fragile than the rest of the wall.

For this reason, it was necessary to reinforce the low defense by applying strengthening magic as needed. Just as expected of a high-class demon, General Gesenburg seemed to be skillful in Darkness and Earth elements. I was not able to confirm which element he combined with the defense magic, but the moment he utilized it, the breach began to fill. There were other sorcerers of “Rampage” that supported in the reinforcement of the repaired breach as well. At least with this, even if the battle were to continue for a whole day, the magic should be able to provide continuous protection.

The left side of the opposite wall was also reinforced in a similar way. With the reinforced parts, the intended function of the castle wall could somehow be maintained.

“But if Taurus comes again, it’s going to end up being destroyed again.”

“Oh … there seem to be a few dozens of them left.”

On the other side at the Crusade Army’s encampment, the magic catapults used on the first day of the attack were lined up in succession, impatiently waiting for the time to attack. Directly behind the crane-shaped catapults, an ancient golem stood even in a more impressive height, the Power Loader “Taurus”, as if providing a size reference for everyone to understand how huge the catapults were.

There were exactly twelve of them. No matter how many times I witnessed it, I could never get used to the overwhelming majestic appearance of the first giant that stood side by side in a row.

“Maybe they won’t move right away.”