Chapter 41: Fortress Siege Part 3 - Lorenovels

12-15 minutes 17.04.2023

As I rushed into the fray, it was the white armored soldier who reacted first. He swiftly drew a square rod from his left hip, and with a flick of his wrist, it transformed into a cylindrical weapon that emitted familiar pale blue flames.

Despite knowing its formidable power, I purposefully pressed on, determined to push through. The scorching heat and the force of the explosion slammed into me, but I gritted my teeth and kept moving forward, only to be met with a barrage of small rotating blades.

“Gaga!”

I hastily grabbed the blade of the sword that was thrust at me with both hands to stop it. The white armored soldier immediately transformed the cylindrical weapon in his left hand into a single-edged sword and swung it, aiming for the base of my leg.

I lifted one leg and used my shin to catch the sword, and then countered with a sweeping kick from my tail. Although I successfully tripped him with my tail, the white armored soldier performed a graceful somersault and swiftly stood up. I had intended to knock him down and deliver a finishing blow, but he managed to escape.

“■■■, ■■■■■!”

I don’t understand the soldier’s words, but his voice sounds irritated. Which was to be expected since I was on top of the south wall, which meant the deployable defense weapons on the south side were rendered useless.

I have already destroyed the defense weapons on the southeast tower, and currently, the only ones remaining active are on the southwest tower, attacking the main forces of the coalition army. Even though the exploding fireballs cause widespread damage with their powerful attacks, the fewer their numbers, the less damage they can do. Just by me being here and fighting, the coalition army has an easier time advancing.

In fact, the enemy may be more desperate than I am. If that’s the case… how about this? I extended my tail widely and swung it recklessly, destroying the nearest defense weapon. In response, the white armored soldier cursed and charged toward me.

“■■■■■!”

“Gagagaga! Gogugagigi!” (Hehehe! Does it matter that much to you?)

He deftly wielded the rotating sword in his right hand and the transformed sword in his left hand, relentlessly pressing forward. The soldier moved without hesitation, displaying obvious signs of rigorous combat training.

As someone who was still getting used to the human body’s shape, I found myself making unnecessary movements. The soldier easily fell for feints that I didn’t even intend to use, and their blades caught me multiple times. I had to admit it: in terms of pure close combat skills, I was no match for this white armored soldier.

But as long as I focused on defense, I had no problem blocking any attacks. My reinforced exoskeleton prevented the blades from cutting through. I used my limbs and body to fend off the attacks, while using my tail to destroy the defense weapons. With each successful counterattack, the soldier’s movements became more sloppy, perhaps due to anger.

“gugigogigagaga” (You left an opening with your sloppy attacks.)

“■■■■■!?” The soldier responded in frustration.

Seizing the opportunity presented by the soldier’s anger-fueled, reckless attacks, I delivered a forceful kick to his abdomen. Though he narrowly dodged at the last moment, the narrow passage along the outer wall caused the white armored soldier to tumble and fall from the wall.

I couldn’t afford to relax even though the soldier had fallen. There was a high possibility that he would climb back up. So, I quickly destroyed the fortress defensive weapon on the south side and planned to ascend the southwest tower to gain control of the upper area as well. However, just before I could do that, there was a sudden surge of spiritual power coming from the direction of the coalition army.

A dazzling spear clad in a hurricane-like energy came flying towards the southwest tower. As it pierced through the tower, it turned into a tornado that engulfed only the tower, causing it to crumble and twist under the onslaught of the spiritual storm.

The precision of destroying only the necessary parts with long-range spiritual art was beyond my capabilities. The skill of the one using this spiritual art was surely several levels above mine. I needed to improve my skills even more.

“Now’s the time! Charge, charge! Follow me! Gahahaha!”

“Uoooohhhhh!”

After they confirmed the destruction of the fortress defense weapons on the outer wall and the collapse of the southwest tower, the heavy infantry started rushing towards my side. The one who gave the order was one of the three people who were wary of me. Judging by his muscular build, he was probably a strong male. It seemed like he held a position of authority among the heavy infantry soldiers.

The deafening sound of the explosion of the fireball echoed through the battlefield, rivaling the noise. The burly warrior took the lead, running at an incredible speed, leaving the other heavy infantry soldiers behind as he approached the gate. He swung the long, slender weapon with an axe-like blade that he carried on his shoulder with full force.

The weapon emitted a dazzling light as his fighting spirit surged and the blade collided with the metal gate. In an instant, the southern gate was blown away with a single strike.

The impact of the explosion shook the outer wall where I was standing, and soldiers’ bodies fell to the ground. Although the plan had changed slightly, I had fulfilled the order given to me. There seemed to be no further additional orders from Orvo, so I decided to return as soon as possible.

“Ga-ha-ha-ha-ha! Die! Perish!” The burly warrior laughed manically.

“■■■■!”

Inside the fortress, the burly warrior who had destroyed the gate and the white armored soldier were engaged in a fierce battle. The clash of blades and the piercing noise reached my ears. Ignoring the battle, I leapt over the collapsed southern outer wall and moved to the eastern side, following the same route I had used to infiltrate the fortress.

I sprinted through the grasslands, heading towards the point where I had parted ways with Orvo. It was his order for me to go there. Once I reached the deserted destination, I decided to observe the situation in the fortress until Orvo arrived.

The battle was still raging inside the fortress. However, black smoke was rising from several points inside the walls, indicating that forces of the coalition army had the upper hand. After a while, the eastern gate opened, and something resembling a carriage, but made entirely of metal and without any horses, came rushing out with soldiers. What in the world was that?

A convoy of metal carriages, flanked by soldiers, raced northward, presumably fleeing from the fortress through the northern and western gates. Their speed was remarkably fast, even for light infantry. Even cavalry would have a hard time catching up, but unfortunately, there were no cavalry near the fortress. 

“Gago!?”

As I watched the line of metal carriages with great interest, a particularly large one emerged. It was equipped with both small and large cylindrical weapons on top, firing metal fragments and flaming projectiles towards the inside of the fortress as it fled. No one dared to chase after it amidst the storm of metal fragments and flames, and the large metal carriage disappeared into the distance.

I couldn’t help but feel dismayed, realizing that the invading army had such advanced weaponry. Even if they were to capture this fortress, the coalition army would face a tough battle from now on. The thought of being thrown into that ongoing battle weighed heavily on my mind.

“Hey there, great job! I was watching, you’re really clever, huh?” 

Orvo arrived floating in the air with a light, carefree tone. He placed his hands on my shoulders, which had already softened after I released my hard exoskeleton and with an eager gleam in his eyes, he excitedly shook my shoulders with innocent enthusiasm. It was a stark contrast to the cunning Georg, who was nothing like him in this regard.

I was able to witness the battle at the fortress up until this point. I followed behind Orvo towards the main camp of the coalition army. Afterwards, Orvo went to the tent where the leaders were located, and I entered the cage. I voluntarily placed shackles on my hands, feet, and tail, and sat in the chair, closing my eyelids. It was because it was Orvo’s order for me to wait inside the cage.

Of course, I have compound eyes in addition to the three eyelids, so I can see my surroundings clearly. However, the soldiers of the coalition army who were near the cage, unaware of this fact, breathed a sigh of relief. They could sense a considerable amount of strength from me, but my existence was so different from them that they instinctively tensed up.

“Ga ha ha ha ha! Finally won, huh!”

As I sat in the chair, resting and observing my surroundings, a loud voice approached. I recognized that voice. In fact, it was unforgettable. I had just heard it a little while ago.

As I thought, the one who came was the male who blew away the south gate of the fortress with a single strike. He walked with a group of similarly armed individuals, making clattering noises with his blood-stained cloak and armor, and holding his removed helmet under his arm. It seemed like he had returned from the fortress to the main camp.

The warriors behind him were also quite strong, resembling the leader in physique, with similarly coarse and rough hair. They must be warriors from the country where such ethnic people live. It seemed to be their nature to have a loud voice, as even though they were only about a hundred in number, they were incredibly noisy.

While I was observing them with my compound eyes, the leader seemed to have noticed me. He grinned and walked confidently towards me. There was none of the hostility he had shown when he first saw me. On the contrary, he exuded a friendly atmosphere.

“It’s you! You saved us earlier! Gahahaha!” The leader stood in front of my cage and laughed loudly, expressing his gratitude. The rest of his group followed suit, taking turns to come forward and express their thanks. I hadn’t expected to be thanked, so I reflexively opened my eyelids.

As they saw my compound eyes, the warriors were all surprised, but there was no rejection in their reactions. On the contrary, they seemed to be even more friendly.

“I heard about the synthetic beast, but I didn’t expect those kind of eyes! You surprised me! Gahahaha!”

“They look like precious gems, Captain!”

“That tail is so thick! Thicker than your arms, Captain!”

“The armor on your arms and legs isn’t armor, huh? I’m quite jealous!”

“You just need to dodge better, don’t you?”

“No way! Wahahaha!”

The burly warriors laughed crudely, but I wasn’t bothered or displeased by it, just perplexed. The reason was simple—there was absolutely no malice in their demeanor.

Despite their intimidating appearance and way of speaking, these hot-blooded warriors had come to express their gratitude, even though they didn’t know I could understand their words. They were more courteous than the others.

“Well, well? Looks like there’s a gathering of people.”

“Hm! So you’re the master of this guy, huh?”

After the negotiations with the leaders of the coalition army had concluded, Orvo returned to my side. He seemed perplexed by the men surrounding the cage. The leader of the men, upon noticing him, loudly expressed his gratitude to Orvo.

“I am Alexander Renkvinst, the Captain of the ‘Dragonblood Knights’ of the Kingdom of Helk! Thanks to your synthetic beast, we were able to win with ease! Thank you! All of you, salute!”

“Thank you very much!”

Until then, the boisterous male warriors of the ‘Dragonblood Knights’ had been relaxed, but with a single word from their leader, they straightened up and performed a neat salute. Their flawless movements were a testament to the high level of training of the knight order and Alexander’s commanding ability.

Not intimidated by the atmosphere of the ‘Dragonblood Knights’, Orvo stood proudly with a hint of boasting. He didn’t seem displeased by the gratitude expressed to him.

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TN: so the invading army has firearms and canons and cars and they can build metallic fortresses fastly…..mc will have it though against this technology.