Overwhelming Firepower

Duke Vardon’s army and Marquis Valeire’s army did not attack each other for now; they simply waited for the command.

Marquis Valeire, with the help of mages, was able to make his voice louder for Duke Vardon to hear.

”Duke Vardon! I will allow you to surrender now to avoid more bloodshed. The only ones who need to die in Styrhord are you and your family. Let these loyal citizens of Norvaegard be allowed to live another day.”

The wind moved across the battlefield, carrying Valeire’s amplified voice over the scarred earth. For a moment, there was only silence. Just two armies facing each other across open ground.

On the makeshift fortress that was made, Duke Vardon stood there with his ever stoic face, looking at Marquis Valeire.

”Hmph, how ludicrous, Marquis Valeire.” Duke Vardon spoke, and unlike Marquis Valeire, who needed a mage to enhance his voice, Duke Vardon did so by himself, using his aura.

”We Thorneharts have defended this land for more than a millennium. Yet you claim that killing us is for the good of Norvaegard. You say that you wish to avoid more bloodshed, when it is you who started this conflict. You speak of loyalty to Norvaegard, but I only see a clown who is loyal to himself.”

Hearing what Duke Vardon said, a few on the side of Marquis Valeire showed irritation at what was said. But most of them did not seem to care.

This was because most of Marquis Valeire’s army was taken from other nobles and were mercenaries. His own personal army was only a tiny portion of the twenty thousand.

On the other hand, Marquis Valeire himself frowned at the words Duke Vardon said.

”All of you Dukes are so arrogant. You speak as if you’re the only ones who defend Norvaegard, who uphold its laws, who die for it.”

Marquis Valeire started becoming a little more emotional as he spoke. ”Why do you get to have so much and be rewarded! We are all nobles under the flag of Norvaegard! We have all bled for this kingdom, yet you are the ones who get everything!”

”Hmph, you finally showed your true colors, clown. I guess this is better than your hypocrisy from before.”

Valeire’s face darkened.

”True colors?” he scoffed. ”No. This is reality. You Dukes sit in your fortresses like kings within a kingdom. Your lands are larger than entire provinces. Your private armies rival the royal guard. It seems to me and many others that you’re planning to start a coup. And yet you dare speak of loyalty?”

”Heh, if your thoughts led you to such absurd things. That can only mean you, yourself, are thinking of doing such things. As expected of a clown, who only knows how to act, filled with nothing but hypocrisy.”

This was the first time Duke Vardon had spoken so many words to someone outside his family.

Despite his stoic appearance, those who knew him understood that Duke Vardon was truly irritated right now.

Valeire laughed, but there was no humor in it. ”You think you’re so righteous? You who only have what you have simply because your ancestor was a friend of a king. Unlike you, I got what I have through my own sweat and blood. I, who was once a baron, rose through the ranks through my own effort. Now I will prove my loyalty to the kingdom, to the king, by killing a traitor to the crown! Then I will become the Duke Norvaegard needs.”

”Hmph, it would seem talking to a fool like you is useless.” Duke Vardon replied as he closed his eyes.

Duke Vardon slowly opened his eyes again. When he did, the air around him changed. He released an intense killing intent aimed at the opposing side.

A few soldiers, aura users, and mages unconsciously backed away, feeling that overwhelming killing intent. Even Marquis Valeire gulped dryly, feeling his entire body tremble ever so slightly.

”This time, it is I who will give you a chance. I know not all of you are truly under this clown before me. So if you wish, you can leave now, and I will not pursue you, but if you stay, then know this, there will be no mercy.”

No one responded; the men and women who had survived the bombardment of artillery and the harassment of the knight unit with modified Gatling guns truly understood that this might truly be their last chance.

Even though they had the superior numbers, and no one could imagine losing to the opposing side that wasn’t even half their numbers.

Still, for some reason, in the back of their minds, they thought that maybe they might lose. Most of them pushed that thought to the back of their minds. Many of them here were being paid handsomely, and will get even more upon victory.

They can’t miss the chance for a huge payday, so despite what their instincts were telling them, most of them stayed behind. Though there were a few dozen that left, it was barely noticeable.

Marquis Valeire, who was stunned by what Duke Vardon said, finally realized what was happening and shouted.

”Cowards!” The Marquis wanted to execute the cowards, but he knew that he might trigger something unwanted with his troops, who were mostly not fully loyal to him.

Several communication orbs lit in the hands of his captains. Valeire drew his sword and raised it toward the fortress.

”Spread the lines! Do not cluster like cattle for slaughter!”

”Trebuchets prepare! Aim for their walls and towers!”

”Mages, prepare to unleash your spells! Aim for those two large weapons on the battlements!”

”Archers prepare to fire!”

He was talking about the heavy artillery. A horn then sounded a signal to advance. The twenty thousand began to move.

Not in tight ranks as they had planned, but in staggered lines. Small blocks of infantry marched with space between them.

Aura users walked among them, their mantles flickering in readiness. Mages were distributed instead of concentrated. They had learned from their previous mistakes on their march towards the fortress.

The mages were already chanting their spells, and the trebuchets were loaded and ready to fire.

”ATTACK!”

Marquis Valeire shouted at the top of his lungs. That was the signal not just for his army but for Duke Vardon’s side as well.

The very second those words were said, everything on the battlefield moved.

Trebuchets groaned as their arms snapped forward. Massive stones whistled through the air toward the fortress.

Mages completed their chants. Spell circles flared in layers of red, blue, and gold. Lances of fire, compressed wind blades, and arcs of lightning streaked toward the battlements.

Archers loosed in waves. Thousands of soldiers dashed forward with ladders at hand. Aura users also charged forward at incredible speeds.

Of course, at the same time, the other side attacked, and so did Duke Vardon’s side. The Roaring Thunders were fired, aimed at the trebuchets.

Soldiers started shooting their rifles, and the mounted Gatling guns continued to mow down the regular soldiers.

Of course, the aura users on Marquis Valeire’s side were able to dodge those now since they had gained experience facing something similar during the march to the fortress.

With their superhuman abilities, some even deflected the bullets with their weapons wrapped in their aura mantles.

Mages on Duke Vardon’s side used counter spells to deflect the incoming wave of spells. The massive stones being flung could barely do any damage to the rune-engraved walls made from a combination of monster materials, stone, and some steel.

Only a few arrows were able to somehow reach Duke Vardon’s side, but they were easily deflected by the knights.

The aura users who were able to scale the walls were met by the Stellhart knights, who were using the new Crimson Lord Mk V sword to slice the other party.

The new sword also had a mid-range gun function, as you point the side of the sword and pull the trigger, but what came out was not a single bullet.

A reinforced chamber built into the spine of the blade detonated with a sharp metallic crack.

Instead of one projectile, a compressed cluster of hardened steel shot forward in a tight, brutal cone.

Just enough spread to make dodging harder for aura users. The enemy aura user deflected a few of the flying steel that were about to hit a vital area; he could barely dodge the others, and a few scratches appeared on his body.

That was when the enemy aura user noticed that, incredibly enough, the thing that fired out of the sword was wrapped around the aura mantle.

It was obvious now that, somehow, on Duke Vardon’s side, they were able to find a way to make one’s aura mantle stick to a flying object for a period of time.

Still, this was no time for him to be impressed as he continued his attack on the Stellhart knight in front of him. Steel then met with steel.

The Crimson Lord Mk V was heavier than previous models, its core reinforced to endure repeated internal detonations.

The Stellhart knight then pulled the main trigger, making the sword blade turn crimson due to the heat from the internal explosions.

That intense heat, plus the Stellhart knight’s aura mantle being enveloped on the Crimson Lord Mk V, made it easily cut through the opponent’s sword, enveloped by his aura mantle.

The enemy aura user was shocked until the very end as he was sliced in half. Their skills were about equal. What made the fight seem easy for the Stellhart knight was his equipment.

Barely a minute had passed since the beginning of the attack, but many had already died on Marquis Valeire’s side, while on Duke Vardon’s side, there were only a few injuries and a few deaths that you could count with one hand.