Chapter 70 - Suppressing the Rebellion 2 (1/2)

“I had no idea it would turn out like this.”

“Indeed, we were attacked by the kingdom’s army.”

It was these two men that were the pillars of the rebel army that had recently faced off against the loyalists under Count Huntington.

Before having been poisoned by Count Gwain, King John must have issued a royal proclamation to them.

Still, the kingdom’s army arrived to reinforce the loyalist faction at the worst possible time, leading to their current situation which seemed devoid of hope.

“If we lose this castle, we won’t have any future.”

“I know, we need to hold on to it no matter what.”

Eden Hall was strategically located, due to its proximity to Cerendia, Ionia and Erutonia. It was something they could never lose if they had any hopes of winning this war long term.

Still, it was sure to be a tough battle because they had yet to receive any reinforcements.

“Although there is a large difference between our two armies, it isn’t all that bad because they don’t have many siege weapons.”

“I can’t believe we failed to capture Hayswick once more. I don’t understand why it has been twice now that we don’t manage to take that city.”

The overall situation would have changed drastically had they managed to capture Hayswick, the old kingdom’s capital.

While Count Ethan had a disappointed look, Count Ludwig kept composed.

“According to my informants, there must have been some other forces at play. Perhaps they had a clan on their side we weren’t aware of.”

“I’d be surprised if Count Huntington were to side with those foreigners. He is far too cautious for that.”

It wasn’t just one or two things that were going against their expectations.

Duke Arnorld sat on the throne despite him being on the kill list, while some unknown person took control as Regent...

Not to mention that it had completely caught them off guard to learn that Count Gwain had been killed. In order to keep an eye on him, he had planted the Akatsuki clan leader, Shinichi, as a double agent. Aside from that, he had been a worthy competitor.

It felt like they were missing something important.

“We don’t have to be too stressed, we still have a chance at this.”

“Did you say Melphis was going to participate in the next battle?”

“He told me that he would come with his army, and it sounded like it would be quite big.”

As Demon Kings awoke from their slumber one by one, their dimension was beginning to stabilize.

Evil monsters had begun to spawn once more and Historical Sites appeared in their territories as well.

Their intention was to acquire the Rhine kingdom by any means necessary.

“We are now basically Melphis’ servants. We might even have to sell our souls to him sooner or later.”

“It’s useless to worry about that right now. If we follow their orders, the Demons won’t touch us.”

In order to reduce the impact of the kingdom’s citizens, Demon King Volak wanted to rule the Rhine kingdom from behind the scenes.

That was the reason that he chose to help Count Ludwig. If the rebellion were successful, Count Ethan would be assigned the role of prime minister, and would essentially have great influence over central politics.

Naturally, Count Gwain whom they judged to have a dark heart, was never fully let in on their plans.

“Huu… I really want this war to end soon. Wouldn’t it be nice for our two families to finally unite, as we increase our power?”

“In the near future, this will all come to pass. For now however, let’s worry about holding on to the castle, the enemy will soon be on our doorsteps soon.”

The kingdom’s army along with the loyalist forces were currently advancing on their castle.

As Count Ludwig finished speaking, a cloud of dust appeared over the hill.

“Speak of the devil.”

“Gather the men, the gates must not fall until Melphis arrives with reinforcements.”

All their preparations had already been done. They had ballistas, capable of firing huge arrows, installed on the walls.

Within the castle, a trebuchet that launched heavy boulders across long distances was installed. They had also hired skilled mages to shoot down and siege towers or battering rams that approached.

This battle would determine their fate, so they didn’t hesitate to throw a ton of money into it.

Both sides were certain to suffer a lot in these kinds of confrontations.

‘Come on, do your worst.’

Eden Hall had enough food stocked to feed the troops for three months. Even if their opponent was a strategic genius, a direct attack wouldn’t work. But even if they were to try and starve them out, Melphis’ Demon army should arrive long before that.

As Count Ludwig smiled contently, he heard a bizarre screech coming from the sky.

“Kyaaah!”

There were a bunch of Gargoyles up above.

Any soldier that saw them, trembled in fear.

“What are you doing? Shoot them!”

Count Ethan scolded them, as the archers finally pulled themselves together.

Shushushu!

Still, those arrows weren’t enough to damage the stone skin of the Gargoyles.

“Use the ballistas!”

Count Ludwig ordered from behind. After some time, the ballistas fired their large arrows, causing a Gargoyle to shatter into pieces.

‘At least it’s effective.’

Although it was quite unfortunate to have to use their ballistas simply for this, it couldn’t be helped. It would be a far greater loss if they were to lose any of their mages why they were busy chanting.

As the Gargoyles were being shot down one by one, a large shadow loomed over the heads of the rebel soldiers.

The undead Griffon had made its appearance.

“What the hell is that?”

“Isn’t it too big?”

It gave off a pressure that was difficult to describe. They were definitely a target that needed to be eliminated, but the ballistas were all in the process of reloading and they had no effective means of attack.

The mages tried sending Fireballs, but the Griffins’ dark armor gave them ample protection.

JJangrang!

Glass containers rained down among the soldiers as Wildfire exploded in their ranks.

Seeing the strange color of this fire, Count Ludwig’s face stiffened.

‘This…’

He had recently seen this liquid fire in the free city of Media. He had tried to persuade the Cohen merchant group to reveal their source, but they had refused.

No doubt there was some huge power behind them. If they had somehow gotten involved in this war…

‘I have a bad feeling.’

His instincts kicked it, as he fled into the castle’s keep.