The number of the Robros troops suddenly increased to 60,000. Hussein, Alf, and other tribes nearby sent 5,000 soldiers to help the Robros army. But I didn’t really care about them because I knew most of them were poorly trained. Hussein and Alf never had a lot of trained soldiers so they must have recruited every man in their castles to send 5,000 troops.
Meanwhile, Kara’s defense troops increased as well. People made a volunteer army by themselves to defend their own towns. Their number was nearly 15,000. They would be a great help for sure.
‘We’re all ready.’
After the Robros troops assembled all their artillery weapons, they kept moving back and forth to press Kara.
The battle of the Kara Castle finally started.
I immediately deployed each army on the right and left side of the west wall to prepare for the Robros attacks while putting Razal in charge of the north, south, and east walls. The main job of his First Army was to keep a lookout.
The total length of the walls of Kara Castle was 12.2 km so it would take at least a half-day for the Robros army to detour around the other side of the walls. Thus, with a sharp lookout, we could quickly send our troops to other walls whenever necessary.
“Master! Let us fight as well.”
Nazir and Bayan came up to the center turret and kept asking me to let them fight as well. In fact, I didn’t even let them be on the lookout but instead ordered them to do training such as climbing a cliff and circling around the road inside the castle. Not surprisingly, they had a lot of complaints.
“We are only defending our castle right now. Since you guys are being trained to fight as offensive forces, we don’t need you during the defense.”
“Then let us go out of the castle and attack the enemies. We will harass their back.”
I chuckled.
“Haha. Do you know how cunning Duke Wastein is? You think he hasn’t prepared for being harassed? You guys might succeed the first few times but soon you will be trapped. Do you think I never thought about harassing their back? I already thought about it and figured out it is a really bad move.”
“Master!”
As Nazir yelled at me, I scowled at him.
“Just do the best with your training and eat well. That’s your job for now. If you guys act stupid later when we need you in battles, there would be a serious consequence. So, focus on your training.”
At that moment, one soldier at the watchtower shouted.
“The Robros artillery units are coming!”
After sending Nazir and Bayan back to their training ground, I quickly went up to the watchtower.
With a cloud of dust, the Robros artillery units were coming towards the castle.
I thought the Robros artillery units were doing field maneuvers today just as they had done for the last few days. But I was wrong. This time, they were not moving back and forth only to press us. In a very organized formation, dozens of artillery units kept moving forward to attack the castle.
“All artillery units! Get ready to fire!”
Upon my signal, our artillery units started tightening ropes and putting stones. A brief moment later, the Robros artillery units came inside the range of our artillery units, and then I shouted again.
“Fire!”
Swoosh~ Many large stones were simultaneously fired into the air and then hit the Robros catapults which were being destroyed one by one.
The Robros artillery units were a little bit panicky for a brief moment due to our well-trained defense. Yet, they gathered their senses soon and started firing their stones towards our walls.
Their accuracy was not good at first. Most of their stones failed to hit the targets so our soldiers rarely got injured.
However, after a few trials, their accuracy improved and their stones started destroying our walls. Fortunately, we still had an advantage over them. Since we were firing from a higher place, our range was longer. Our catapults were also partly protected.
Bang! Thump!
The castle wall on the right side got damaged. It was not totally destroyed yet there was a huge dent on it and our soldiers looked all worried.
Once Padilla watched large stones flying everywhere, her body started trembling in fear. When several soldiers were smashed by one of the enemies’ stones, she flinched and closed her eyes.
She looked very scared. In fact, she had never experienced war before.
I tapped her waist.
“Everyone is looking at you. Stand still with confidence. If you show your fear, everyone will start getting scared.”
“Yes, sir…”
She clenched both of her fists and stood still with confidence.
Shortly after, I could see the Robros troops lining up from afar. Artillery weapons such as siege towers, siege engines, and shielded wagons were at the front. It seemed they would begin their attacks on a full scale.
For a brief moment, I thought about using Magic Cannons right now but decided not to. It was too early to use them. I should use them at a very critical moment because they could turn the battle situation around if used appropriately.
It was better to keep them in secret for now.
I took my Survival Kit #3 out of my pocket. It was the Magic Grenade Launcher made with the highest class Essence. It looked just like a Magic Grenade Launcher made with the lowest class Essence but there was a huge difference between them. My Magic Grenade Launcher could fire nearly 250 shots.
“Padilla, when the enemies come, you should also fight. So, use this.”
Uddin who was standing behind us quickly came forward.
“No, sir. It’s too dangerous.”
“No, it’s not dangerous at all. I will protect her.”
“But sir…”
“It’s all for Kara. Once the soldiers see their emir taking the lead, they will fight bravely against their enemies.”
Besides, Padilla was a woman and also the Emir. As our soldiers were all men, they would fight harder if they saw she fought against the enemies. Men always tried to protect women by their instinct. And partly, it’s about their pride. Thus, she knew why I handed her a Magic Grenade Launcher.
“Yes, sir. I will try.”
“Good. Do your best.”
Shortly after, the Robros troops started attacking while playing their drums and blowing their trumpets
Our soldiers got all scared because the number of the Robros troops was huge. But I wasn’t scared at all. Their number was only about 10,000~20,000. Besides, most of them were mercenary soldiers and Shikar warriors. It seemed like just a skirmish, not an attack of full scale.
They made a spread formation at first but soon they made a circular formation to focus their forces on one point.
“Attack!”
The Robros troops already put many bridges over the moat in front of the castle.
At first, shielded wagon units started approaching our castle. Countless arrows poured down on them but they still kept moving forward and removing caltrops to make a path for other units.
A little later, ladder trucks came up and installed ladders to the top of our castle walls. Siege engines also detoured our turrets and headed towards the castle gate.
It was a very typical siege strategy and we were prepared for it.
Siege engines were blocked by stakes driven into the ground. The Robros archers on top of their siege towers were killed by our shooters with Magic Grenade Launchers.
The other Robros soldiers climbing the ladders were falling down to the ground because our crossbowmen and peasant army were fighting ferociously.
“Dammit. Do something!”
I could hear the Robros soldiers out crying from everywhere. They couldn’t even make a step forward. Many of them got shot by our archers’ arrows and others had great difficulty in climbing the ladders of 15 meters in length.
Suddenly, the Robros siege towers approached our castle walls very closely. They were probably trying to throw bridges on top of the walls. So, I waved a red flag with all my strength.
“The red flag is up. Use oil carts!”
Upon my signal, our soldiers started pouring oil down the castle. One of the Robros soldiers smelled it and shouted out loud because he knew what it was.
It was a very special oil.
“It’s… it’s the Fire of Georgant! Run!”
The Fire of Georgant was the secret weapon invented by the royal family of the Dwarf Kingdom of Georgant which was located near the Kingdom of Robros. It couldn’t be quenched with water. And it emitted stinking smoke which could nearly suffocate enemies. That’s why it was called the Fire of Death.
Even though the Robros soldiers found out it was the Fire of Georgant, the damage was already done. Their siege towers were on fire. The soldiers beneath the castle were also screaming and dying because of huge flames. But there was more. As our soldiers started throwing some kind of jars on fire down the castle, yellow smoke in thick clouds was formed underneath the castle. Shortly after, the Robros soldiers started coughing and collapsing down on the ground.
‘Loran’s Poison Gas’
It was accidentally invented by Loran, a therapist. The gas coming out from a mixture of herbs when burnt could paralyze the human body and in the worst case, it could kill him.
However, it had a downside. The wind could blow away the gas. But it was still quite useful when attacking a large number of enemies.
“Argh!”
It was like hell everywhere. The Robros troops had serious casualties. Some of our soldiers even showed mercy to them because it was almost a massacre.
With narrowed eyes, I looked at the Robros headquarters.
‘You bald and old man. More than half of the battles I experienced was defense. With a typical military strategy, you can never take over this castle.’
Meanwhile, Padilla kept shooting my Magic Grenade Launcher towards the Robros soldiers beneath the castle. She seemed to be hesitant sometimes because so many enemies were dying horribly. But since I kept telling her not to show any mercy, she couldn’t stop.
“All units, retreat!”
The Robros troops started retreating. The battle didn’t last long but they had massive casualties and damages without any accomplishment. It was supposed to be just a skirmish so they couldn’t let their troops be completely annihilated.
Before long, the Robros soldiers started running away. All their troops retreated at once.
“Hooray, the enemies are retreating!”
After winning the first battle ever, Kara soldiers yelled out a cheer. But actually, it was just a skirmish so it was not something to celebrate much. Yet, it was a victory. I let them enjoy their first victory as much as they wanted.
Beneath the castle wall, there were still a lot of soldiers groaning and coughing heavily in pain. Perhaps the Robros troops retreated right away without even taking their soldiers who were injured.
I ordered liaison soldiers to tell everyone to help those who are injured, including the Robros soldiers.
“Send our doctors and soldiers to help the Robros soldiers who are injured. Then send a messenger to the Robros troops. Suggest them a ceasefire for three days and also tell them to take back their injured soldiers and dead bodies.”
Padilla made a gentle smile because she thought I was very merciful. But it was not out of mercy. It was just a thing we had to do. If we just left the corpses outside the castle, an epidemic could arise. Given the fact that hundreds of thousands of people were in Kara Castle right now, an epidemic would be the worst nightmare we could imagine.
Besides, it would be bad for the morale of our soldiers if looking at those corpses and the suffering of injured ones lying outside the castle. On the other hand, if we sent dead bodies back to the Robros troops, their morale would go down for sure.
They should also use more resources to treat the injured soldiers while their hostility towards us would diminish thanks to our merciful gesture.
Of course, after the injured soldiers recovered, they might attack us again but it wouldn’t be so easy. Those soldiers just had near-death experiences. They couldn’t fight bravely like before. Most of them would be sent to supply units for non-combating tasks.
Not long after, Fabius accepted my offer. They sent their wagons and soldiers. They took all their injured soldiers and corpses back.
* * *
Padilla and I came back to the palace after all the corpses and injured soldiers were removed. With her deadly pale face and trembling body, she headed to her bedroom. She seemed very disturbed about the battle because she grew up sheltered.
Once we went inside the room, I took her armors off and said in a small voice.
“This is the way it is the first time.”
“······.”
Her body was stiff and she didn’t say anything but nodded her head.
“It’s your first time but you did pretty well. Once you get used to it, you will do better.”
“Yes, sir.”
Her voice was much calmer now. I took off all of her armors as well as her gambeson. Now, she was only wearing her underwear so I could see her soft skin and body very clearly.
Once I saw her slim body, I murmured to myself.
‘Hmm.’
As she tried to call her servant to take a bath, I stopped her.
“Just rest first and take a bath later. You must be really exhausted.”
“But…”
I brought Padilla to her bed and started taking off my armors quickly.
She kept blinking her large eyes and stared at me.
“Your highness, what are you…?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
I took off all my armors and came closer to her. Then she blushed with shyness.
“Your highness…”
“I’m just gonna give you some massage so you can recover from your fatigue quickly. You should loosen knotted muscles as soon as possible. Otherwise, your body will become muscular and unattractive.”
“I see…”
As she seemed to be relieved, I climbed over her bed and got on her body.
“Your highness…”
“Oh, don’t worry. It will be okay.”
“Your highness…”
“This is the way it is the first time. Just trust me.”
After covering her blanket over myself, I hugged her waist. She got very surprised and moved her body around but soon she became quiet.
I gave her a massage. And I was really trying to give her only a massage.