Chapter 279 - Chapter Eighteen: Southern Sertoria ②
While the heavy infantry were fighting a melee with the invading enemy soldiers, the scout unit led by Paul was moving over the fort in bowls that had hidden their forms. Bonnie was with them too.
The reason the sound of explosions could be heard outside the wall was likely because the Paratroop Jaegers were scattering gunpowder.
Some of the bowls should be scouting the enemy's fort.
"Bonnie. There they are. Aim well."
In the direction Paul was pointing, there were Engrio aerial soldiers. They had advanced over the fort and were having a shooting battle with the archers. Five bowls, including Paul's, are in charge of aerial defense.
When they positioned themselves right above the opponent and scouted through the transparent bowl, they were carrying five archers. Since they were flying at night and protected by a bowl, even if they were illuminated with a lighting device, they couldn't be easily shot down by an attack from below. They were doing their best just to repel arrows with a [Wind Barrier].
Paul skillfully operated it and took a position diagonally above the soldier who didn't have a bow. When Bonnie released an arrow, it hit the person who was brilliantly steering. Perhaps the bowl user made a mistake in operation, as they fell into the water moat.
Perhaps the Engrio aerial soldiers were concerned about the weight when flying, as they were wearing leather armor. While they were splashing around, they were caught in a single sweep by a cast net.
That's one shot down.
"You did well. To drop them in the moat is quite something."
"I wasn't aiming for that. They just fell on their own."
"Is that so? Hmm. It seems Bishop Harris's aim hit home."
"Harris-sama's aim?"
"Yeah, those who become prisoners will be treated by the church priests of the other country, right? They intend to become prisoners with that in mind. That way, they can survive without dying."
As Paul said, when they dropped the second bowl, it was quite far from the moat, but they somehow worked hard and crashed into the water. Of course, it's better to fall on the water than on the ground, but they didn't have to force themselves to come to the water moat. They must have aimed to stop the arrows from flying once they were entangled in the cast net.
"It's just as you said, Master."
"That's right. If they're going to gather and become prisoners on their own even without being killed, it might be fine to just aim for the shoulders."
While the two of them were laughing lightheartedly in the middle of the battle, a dull sound came from the ground, and a water column rose. It was further west than where Bonnie and the others were, and quite far from the highway.
"Those guys, they had dug as many as three tunnels!"
Near the main gate, the wall had been buried, but in the distant location, it hadn't been buried.
"However, from the look of it, the soldiers waiting in the tunnel will drown to death."
Perhaps a hole opened at the bottom of the water moat because it was blown up, as the water was flowing in a vortex. The tunnel seemed to have reached the water moat after crossing the breastworks.
"Did we have gunpowder and fire arrows?"
"Yes. I brought several fire arrows and gunpowder for hand-throwing."
Most of the enemy's bowls were taken out along with the Paratroop Jaegers. The Paratroop Jaegers hiding their forms would, of course, be unharmed.
"Alright. We're going outside. I'll indicate the targets, so attack exactly as I say."
"Yes. I understand."
At Paul's words, Bonnie took out a flint and lit the lantern at her waist.
They temporarily returned to the turret, took on three Paratroop Jaeger archers, and flew again.
Crossing the breastworks, enemy soldiers were swarming. Several siege ladders were set up, and soldiers were climbing up in order. Some had reached the top of the breastworks and were fighting a melee.
After releasing arrows at two or three soldiers in the middle of a ladder and making them fall, Paul's instructions came.
"Target those supporting the siege ladders with gunpowder. If you drop it near the ladders, they'll run away on their own."
They lit the fuse and dropped it.
Everyone in the vicinity, including those supporting the ladder and those putting their feet on it to climb, all fled.
It exploded, and the ladder, whose base was blown away, slid along the breastworks and fell sideways. The soldiers who had been clinging to it fell from the ladder, screaming.
While they were dropping two or three ladders, one of the two Paratroop Jaegers riding with them apparently found a light in the forest.
When they approached and observed the situation from above, several barrels were piled up. There were about ten guard soldiers.
"It's gunpowder. Should we just seize it?"
All three nodded together.
"Alright. We'll take them out all at once. We'll charge into the forest at the same time as we release arrows."
The three drew their bows with fire arrows notched.
They were aiming through the gaps in the tree branches. It wasn't something that would hit easily.
"How is it?"
They couldn't release them knowing they would hit a branch.
When all three of them said, "Alright," at the same time after adjusting the bowl's position bit by bit to take a position where they could draw a trajectory to the enemy.
"Fire!"
Along with Paul's signal, they released them all at once, and at the same time, they charged the bowl into the forest.
The Paratroop Jaegers put down their bows and drew the swords on their backs.
They descended while snapping branches and crushed two people. The sensation of bones breaking was transmitted through the bowl.
When they made a forced landing just like that, while Bonnie was releasing a second arrow, the two Paratroop Jaegers jumped out of the bowl and cut down the remaining four in no time.
There were ten barrels in total. A smell that stimulated the back of the nose hung in the air. It was gunpowder.
They rolled and carried them to a distant location, Paul dug a hole and buried them, and they loaded only three into the bowl and somehow ascended.
When they rose to an altitude where they thought it would be fine, and checked the barrels, they had fuses attached.
The Paratroop Jaegers all looked at Paul's face. He was smirking.
"If we can pulverize the enemy's fort with these, the enemy will retreat."
"Master. Let's do it."
Everyone tapped the barrels.
"In that case, let's do it!"
It was when the talk was settled.
One more roar echoed through the air.
It was toward the east.
What exploded was not the outside of the breastworks. No water column rose either.
There was a sound like stones flying and rubble collapsing.
"Oh no! This time it's a hit. The wall was broken!"
When they hurriedly flew there, part of the breastworks had been completely broken, and a mountain of rubble had been created.
Engrio soldiers were climbing the rubble and trying to invade the fort.
They aimed with bows and arrows and dropped hand-throwing gunpowder.
In no time, a mountain of about a dozen corpses was made.
The Engrio army tried to invade the fort by climbing over the corpses of their allies.
On top of the rubble, the heavy infantry of the Sertorian Kingdom Army who had climbed up were holding shields.
It became a melee.
They supported them by releasing arrows from above and behind the siege side.
"Master. We've run out of arrows and hand-throwing gunpowder."
"Paul-dono. If we blow up the enemy's fort, the enemy will retreat. How about leaving this to our allies?"
Occasionally, an arrow stuck in the back of an Engrio soldier. The bowls operated by allied Paratroop Jaegers must have gathered. Several spearheads with small marker flags attached could be seen in the air. It seemed fine to leave it to them.
"Hmm. Let's do that."
A distance of three hours on foot took less than half an hour by bowl.
The target was burning campfires. It was immediately obvious.
Receiving the news of the breastworks' explosion, they must be preparing followers. Soldiers were lined up.
There were about five thousand. If this reached them, they wouldn't be able to hold out.
In front of the soldiers, some well-dressed people were lined up. They must be the commanders. If they were to aim, it would be those guys.
"We'll drop them from above. Once the gunpowder explodes, scatter oil on those carriages loaded with fodder, drop the lanterns, and set them on fire. We'll dig up the buried gunpowder and come one more time."
When they lit the fuse of one of the barrels with a flint and dropped it aiming for those who were giving some kind of speech, it hit something like a wall and went rolling to another location.
"Tch! They had a [Wind Barrier] deployed!"
The enemy noticed and it became a great uproar.
"It can't be helped. Aim for the soldiers! Confuse them and set the fire."
The first barrel exploded. It completely destroyed a wooden hut.
The enemy soldiers evacuated all at once.
They must have realized they were safe under the [Wind Barrier]. Those lined up in front were just keeping their posture low on the spot.
The enemy archers were releasing arrows into the sky at random.
They wouldn't hit easily, but stray arrows are scary.
They temporarily ascended and diverted the enemy's aim.
From far above, they dropped the second one aiming for the place where the soldiers were clustered.
Because the enemy had knocked over the campfires, the target became dark, but the barrel exploded, and the confusion seemed to have increased.
Relying on the neighing of horses to lower their altitude, they saw baggage wagons in the moonlight.
They quickly scattered oil and threw lanterns.
With a whoosh, they caught fire and flared up. As aimed, they were wagons loaded with fodder. They flared up and burned.
The soldiers hurriedly approached. They were splashing water with buckets, but it wouldn't go out easily.
They dropped a barrel onto the burning wagon and ascended rapidly.
A roar was heard, and flames scattered.
It spread to the next baggage wagon, and the one after that, one after another.
"Alright! Let's go back for now and bring the new barrels. We'll continue the attack with gunpowder all night long."
They failed to kill the enemy general, but the enemy's followers wouldn't be coming for a while. It's not a bad result.
When Paul and the others returned to the fort, the eastern half of the first wall was almost occupied.
While they were fighting a melee inside the breastworks, the enemy had made holes in various places in the wall with gunpowder and invaded the interior.
Even if they were to attack, they had no weapons, so when they returned to the main camp, they revealed their forms and landed.
Fortunately, since it was originally a fort that connected two breastworks, north and south, they were supporting it with the northern breastworks and the water moat. In the western half, the water moat had become a dry moat, but the southern breastworks were maintained. As for the main gate, a bridge built over the water moat continued once past the gate, but that bridge had been cut down at the same time as the start of the war. Now it was nothing but a turret, but the Sertorian soldiers were working hard to maintain it.
Sertoria lacked military strength, and Engrio's followers were not coming.
Both sides lacked a decisive move for an offensive, and the battle was in a temporary state of suspension.
Paul visited the defense commander of the main camp and offered his opinion on a simple operation plan.
"Commander. I found the barrels packed with gunpowder that the enemy had hidden and buried them in another location. They have fuses attached. Just now, we loaded about three into a bowl and made a surprise attack on the enemy camp from the sky."
The fort's defense commander is the commander of the Nakanohara garrison of the Kingdom Army. Since the location is Nakanohara, he has under his command not only the Nakanohara Paratroop Jaeger unit but also the Western Plains Garrison and the Eastern Plains Paratroop Jaeger unit.
"Oh! It seems a fire broke out in the direction of the enemy camp, but was it Paul and the others who did it! Thanks to you, we were saved."
The commander thanked the four of them, including Paul.
"The thing is, we aimed for the enemy general, but the enemy was also clever; they had a [Wind Barrier] deployed, and the best we could do was start a fire."
"No, no. Just stalling the enemy's followers was enough. Thanks to that, we could take a breath."
For the four who attacked, the damage they inflicted was at most several dozen soldiers, plus one hut and several wagons loaded with fodder, so it was unsatisfactory, but it seems they were able to reduce the damage to their allies.
"I'm sure you already know, but another five thousand soldiers are supposed to advance. However, they are currently in confusion due to the fire."
"In that case, while we're at it, should we give them one more push with the Paratroop Jaegers?"
"That was quick. There are seven more barrels. We can pack three into one bowl, but we might as well take archers who can release fire arrows. And hand-throwing gunpowder too. Two barrels and four archers per bowl. Could you lend me Paratroop Jaegers for three more bowls? We might not be able to kill the enemy soldiers, but we should be able to stall them."
"I don't mind."
When he looked at the two commanders of the Paratroop Jaegers who were participating as staff officers, both of them nodded and sent messengers.
"Also, the enemy might have other gunpowder hidden. It's in the forest not far from the southern breastworks. If we attack, we might be able to seize it. If it's impossible, just release fire arrows from above and blow it up."
"Understood. We'll try it with the remaining Paratroop Jaegers."
Thus, the second attack on the main camp began.
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Ten newcomer Kingdom Army soldiers were mobilized for the rear transport of wounded soldiers and prisoners, taking advantage of the state of suspension in the battle.
Beowulf was expected for having suddenly performed a feat in her first battle and was assigned to the escort of the wounded prisoners. Two people together were in charge of five each, but the one she was in charge of was, of all people, the big guy with the battle-axe she had defeated.
He was fitted with leg irons connected by a chain in addition to handcuffs that kept his hands behind his back so he wouldn't escape.
She had pierced his shoulder, but the bleeding had already stopped. Currently, his left shoulder cannot be used, but it will heal if a high-ranking priest applies recovery magic properly.
"Yo! It's you. To defeat me despite being a woman, you really did it."
He was a man in his forties with dull blond hair cut short. While he was fighting, he had a countenance that made one wonder if he was an ogre or a monster, but when he became a prisoner, he was a pleasant middle-aged man. He must be used to war.
The man laughed and turned his back, offering his right hand.
Beowulf, who nodded slightly, crouched down and gripped it with her right hand, and he gave a firm handshake.
"I heard. Apparently you participated in the Demon Lord subjugation unit and got as many as three medals. Actually, I also participated in the diversion as a representative of Engrio."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, though I only got one medal. I got it from the King of Sertoria."
They both broke into smiles and praised each other's brave fight.
"Which means, you are a so-called noble, then."
Only nobles should have participated in the Demon Lord subjugation from Engrio.
"I'm a knight, for now. But it's only for one generation. Actually, I'm from a serf background."
According to him, in Engrio, there is a martial arts competition once a year regardless of status, and those who achieve excellent results are apparently plucked out to be knights even if they are serfs. It is King Seldic's policy. Naturally, nobles are superior in the handling of swords and spears. The man, who had a good physique and was proud of his strength, won the wrestling. Now, he says he is a knight under Margrave Mortimer and a squad leader of the heavy infantry.
"I thought I would be killed, but thanks to you piercing my shoulder, I was saved. I thank you."
He bowed his head honestly to Beowulf.
Being a former serf, he probably has no useless pride.
In contrast, Beowulf sighed.
"I didn't save you. I couldn't kill you. Actually, it's my first war."
"Is that so? But it's fine. There's almost no one who can kill an enemy exactly as aimed in their first actual combat. I was also terrified the first time. I just thrust with a spear while being in a trance, and it just happened to pierce."
His first actual combat was apparently also against Sertoria. It was good that he performed a feat in the first battle, but he was apparently hit by a sudden attack from the cavalry group led by Henry and escaped with his life. After that, as a heavy infantryman, he was in a role supporting the Sertorian army's offensive, and it seems it was a series of losing battles.
Since he said it while laughing, Beowulf also ended up laughing along.
Still, since he was plucked out to be a squad leader, he must have performed feats accordingly.
"The place I'm taking you to now is a treatment center exclusively for prisoners. I have several acquaintances there. Since you're the opponent of my first feat, I'll tell them to take good care of you."
"I'm grateful. I'm counting on you, comrade!"
There was no need to kill him. It might be naive, but this was probably good in its own way.
Beowulf turned a smile toward the prisoner who was laughing lightheartedly.