Chapter 189: Time to Show Them Our Strength (3)
Before launching the attack, Ghislain asked Vanessa.
“What’s the status of the enemy’s troop deployment?”
Vanessa, who had been sitting silently with her eyes closed, opened them. Beside her, a mage lay collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
“As you predicted, my lord, they’ve all converged at the target point of the tunnel. Less than half of their soldiers remain near the castle gates and walls.”
Thanks to her mastery of the 6th Circle, Vanessa could survey a much wider area than other mages.
To compensate for her lack of mana, she drained it from other mages. It wasn’t uncommon for her to leave several mages unconscious after extracting their mana.
Even as the mages dropped one by one, Ghislain insisted that Vanessa continue casting her reconnaissance spells.
The ability to scan the entire battlefield, even briefly, was a critical factor in determining victory. Hadn’t they managed to uncover spies in the previous war by exhausting their mages?
Confirming that the enemy was moving as he had anticipated, Ghislain nodded and spoke.
“Good. It’s time to begin.”
“Are you sure... this will be alright? If anything goes wrong, we’ll be in grave danger,” Vanessa said with concern.
Ghislain chuckled at her worry.
“If it succeeds, we can seize the castle with minimal losses.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if I used the mages’ mana to attack the soldiers on the walls?” she suggested.
“No. It’s not time to reveal the presence of our mages yet. Besides, that method might inflict damage but won’t let us take the castle easily. The enemy will hold out until reinforcements arrive. You’re aware we don’t have much time, right?”
“Even so...”
“We go in, kill the enemies, and open the gates. How simple and efficient is that? They’re so starved they’ve lost most of their strength. They won’t be hard to handle.”
Faced with Ghislain’s resolute response, Vanessa bowed her head.
It was risky, but the potential reward was immense. Capturing the castle in just one day was worth the gamble.
She could only hope the plan would succeed without significant losses.
“Understood. Please, take care of yourself...”
“Alright. Let’s get things ready.”
Leaving Vanessa’s concerns behind, Ghislain summoned the knights.
“At nightfall, we will board hot air balloons and infiltrate the enemy’s castle. Once inside, we will seize the walls and open the gates.”
“...”
The knights, who had been boastful until recently, now wore grim expressions as if the inevitable had arrived.
The latest supply shipment had included dozens of hot air balloons—far too many for simple reconnaissance.
The knights who saw this couldn’t help but recall the fall-breaking technique they had learned recently, though they dismissed the possibility. Still, they couldn’t have imagined that their unease would become reality.
Once the lord gave his orders, the operation was set in stone. The knights, well aware of their lord’s stubbornness from past experiences, felt a heavy weight settle on their hearts.
At that moment, one knight spoke in a puzzled tone.
“Then why did we dig the tunnel? Are we not planning to attack through it?”
“It’s bait. The enemy’s main force has likely concentrated near the tunnel exit to launch a counterattack against us.”
“Then that means...”
“Yes, by entering the castle directly via the airships, we can quickly seize the gates.”
The knights swallowed nervously, unable to utter a word.
The lord held the entire battlefield in the palm of his hand. It was chilling.
The true focus of the plan was the airships. Neither the lack of siege weapons nor the excavation of the tunnel were intended as primary strategies—they were distractions to lull the enemy into complacency and divert their attention.
‘So that’s why we trained for fall-breaking.’
‘It was all planned from the beginning.’
‘Well... there’s no way our lord would do anything without a reason.’
Thinking back, the lord had always been like this. There wasn’t a single instance where he acted without purpose.
From the Forest of Beasts to the Battle of Ferdium, he had always employed any means necessary to achieve victory.
He was the type to deceive not only the enemy but even his own allies, preparing meticulously step by step.
Though his methods often defied conventional logic, the results always showed that the lord had a plan.
As he observed the tense knights, Ghislain broke the silence.
“I understand what you’re worried about. No matter how well-prepared we are, charging into the heart of enemy territory is no simple feat. It’s incredibly dangerous, and there’s no guarantee of survival.”
“...”
His words struck a chord. Despite being knights, they were still only half-complete—limited in the time they could effectively fight.
If they failed to quickly subdue the enemy and open the gates, they would undoubtedly be surrounded by enemy forces and annihilated.
And no one understood this better than Ghislain, who had devised the operation.
In the midst of the mounting tension, Ghislain spoke slowly.
“We’re still weaker than our enemies. The foes we’ll face in the future will be far stronger than Count Cabaldi.”
Count Desmond was one of the strongest figures in the North. And the ducal family’s strength was unparalleled, beyond comparison as a single power.
The knights were well aware that they would eventually have to fight against such formidable enemies.
“So, this war must end with a speed that the enemy could never imagine. If we can’t easily subdue even foes like these, there will be no hope for us. Let me ask you—have we been lacking in our preparations?”
At those words, the knights puffed out their chests, exhaling forcefully.
They had risked their lives to master mana, trained with the determination to endure broken bodies.
The Fenris Army had halted their advance, raising their shields to prepare for a potential arrow attack. However, unaware of Ghislain’s plans, the wall commander made his own assumptions.
Soon, a small group of scouts was assembled and cautiously moved in the direction of the airship.
Unlike the careful movements of the Cabaldi Army, the knights aboard the airship were in a state of chaos.
“Hey! We need to get down quickly! Don’t you see the torches over there? The enemy is coming to investigate!”
The mages urged the knights to hurry. The sooner the knights disembarked, the sooner they could flee.
The mages had already expended a significant amount of mana in deploying and maneuvering the airship.
They were of no use in this sudden chaotic skirmish, so they had to escape the moment the knights disembarked.
If they lingered unnecessarily and got intercepted, they’d lose the valuable mages and the airship for no reason.
Still, the knights had their own grievances.
“Damn it! Shut up! We’re too high up right now! Let’s lower it more!”
“What? No way! We can’t go any lower!”
They couldn’t afford to drop the airship too low. Lifting it again would take time, making it difficult to flee.
The knights had to disembark at the right altitude for the mages to retreat, so the mages wouldn’t compromise.
“If you don’t get down now, I’ll cut the rope myself!”
“Wow, these bastards! Just wait until after the war.”
Despite their bickering, the knights began preparing to jump.
Though they growled at each other, the knights and mages actually got along better than one might expect.
In the past, arrogant mages would never have mingled with mercenary-born knights like this. They used to avoid each other, barely acknowledging the other’s existence.
But swept up in the atmosphere Ghislain had cultivated, they had become something akin to neighborhood friends, shedding their pretenses.
Taking several deep breaths, the knights executed their well-practiced technique: the “one-arm-breaking survival roll.”
Thud! Thud! Thump!
“Argh! It didn’t break!”
“I’m alive! Yes! All that training paid off!”
“Man, I almost died before even getting into a fight.”
They groaned and rolled on the ground, exaggerating their pain.
Thanks to their training and mana control, they managed to land safely without serious injuries.
Amid all the noise, one airship remained unusually quiet.
It was the one carrying Kaor and Alfoi.
The two hadn’t exchanged words since the “hot air balloon crash incident” and were stuck in an awkward, distant relationship.
It wasn’t because they blamed each other, but rather because the memory of trying to save one another felt embarrassingly sentimental, making it difficult to face each other.
As they descended along the ropes in that strained silence, Kaor finally broke the ice.
“Hey, don’t mess around and fall again. Run properly this time.”
Alfoi, with his hands clasped behind his back, deliberately avoided Kaor’s gaze as he replied.
“Hmph... Just come back in one piece.”
“Man, acting all shy.”
Kaor chuckled briefly, then made a dramatic leap off the airship.
Thud!
“Argh, damn it! That hurts!”
With Kaor being the last to disembark, the airships began to rise one by one. The mages’ mission was now simple: escape the battlefield as quickly as possible.
From one of the ascending airships, a mage peered down and shouted,
“Hey! Make it back alive, will you? Only then can I properly fix your crude manners!”
A knight rubbing his sore arm chuckled and retorted,
“Yeah, you better clean your neck and wait. I’ll send you off easy.”
“Heh, you’ll piss yourself with one fireball from me,” the mage laughed, using magic to heat the air chamber.
As the retreating airships grew smaller, the Cabaldi Army soldiers hesitated, slowly closing in.
For the Fenris knights who had landed in the middle of enemy lines, there was no way out now.
All that remained was success or death.
Ghislaine, who had landed first and was keeping watch at the front, turned back to address the others.
“No one failed to jump or got hurt on the way down, right?”
“No, sir!”
The knights rotated their aching arms and laughed.
Soon, a menacing killing intent began to rise among them.
Drawing his sword, Ghislaine grinned. It had been a long time since he had felt the thrill of the battlefield.
“Is everyone ready to cough up blood?”
“Fully prepared, sir!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With cruel smiles that mirrored Ghislaine’s, the knights drew their swords.
Not a single blade was not bare of mana; each one was cloaked in a radiant blue glow.