The morning of the next day, Formar and I rejoined the elven army.
"All troops forward!"
""Ha!!!""
The elven army began preparations early in the morning, and before nine o'clock, they formed up and began to march.
Our destination was the Fortress LaPolca. The previous day's march had already brought us close enough to catch a glimpse of it.
(From below, it's quite a sheer mountain. Is this mountain made of rock? It's a natural fortress. We must take it back.)
On this march, me and my friends were at the rear end.
The site where the Fortress LaPolca was located was shaped like two sheer mountains that meet in the middle. The huge fortress built in the middle of the mountain was Fortress LaPolca. The natural environment where it was built made it quite strong.
There were only two large gates, one to the north and the other to the south, and they were naturally closed at the moment.
The mountain road was reasonably wide, so we marched in a vertical formation with a reasonable number of columns.
(Oh, we're getting pretty close.)
As we marched, even I, who was at the rear end, could see the full extent of the massive outer wall, which was three times the size of Tiamo.
On the outer wall, magical beasts were moving incessantly, but they still looked as small as grains of rice.
Whirr
Whirr
The marching footsteps of B-rank Stones echoed in the air. I could see the outer walls of the Fortress LaPolca and the magical beasts through the gaps of the B-rank Stones who were leading the way.
I had two rows of 4 B-rank Stones in front of the elven army.
I wanted to use them as shields for the elven army to get close enough to the outer wall.
The elves seemed to be momentarily surprised by the huge B-rank Stones, which reached 10 meters in length, but quickly accepted them. The reason for this might be because they had heard about the victories of the siege so far. They must also have heard about my summons. Or maybe they decided that it was a trivial matter if it was for the sake of the country they should protect and Her Majesty the Queen.
(An open place?)
Fortress LaPolca sat in a slightly open area in the middle of two mountains.
The soldiers emerged from the mountain path into the open space around the outer wall and continued their march, expanding their ranks. 8 B-rank Stones also changed into a horizontal line, but the magical beasts on the outer wall didn't seem to be attacking yet.
"Allen, they haven't attacked us yet."
"Oh, Cecile. The Demon King's army probably doesn't see any benefit in attacking here. We need to get a little closer to them."
Even 1-star Talents in Normal Mode, the range of an elf's bow can reach 1 kilometer when both Level and Skill Levels were perfected. Naturally, the range of magical beasts that could use bows was also about the same.
However, the closer the distance, the more powerful and deadly it would naturally be. When there was still enough distance between us, we did not start attacking each other.
Then, as we marched further, we heard a gong-like sound on the outer wall.
A hundred meters from the outer wall, the magical beasts on the outer wall all set their arrows at once.
It was hard to tell because they were 100 meters away, but all of them were B-rank magical beasts, and the skeleton-shaped magical beasts on the outer wall were several times the size of an adult. Their arrows were also longer than a man's height.
The Demon King's army launched an attack before the elven army was fully prepared.
With the sound of an explosion, the archers of the magical beasts shot out huge arrows, and fireballs came flying from behind them.
B-rank Stones desperately used their shield to defend.
"Spirit Mages and Spirit Wielders, build a stone wall for protection!"
""Ha!!!""
B-rank Stones were not immortal. If they were hit, they disappeared, and if the attacks weren't aimed at B-rank Stones, they hit the elves. They also stood a good distance apart so that the elven army side could attack. The soldiers generated layers of defensive walls to fortify their defense.
"We must attack and destroy the magical beasts who have taken our fortress!"
""Ha!!!""
Both the Archers and Spirit Mages began to attack at once.
The outer wall was made in the size of an elf, so it seemed too small for magical beasts. Since their target was largely without the wall's protection the elves easily aimed and attacked. They also attacked the troops behind the outer wall with a mountainous attack.
The elven soldiers didn't conserve their mana, and used their skills and mana. I had created enough [Blessing of Heaven]s for them to be able to use mana so leisurely.
As for the area behind the outer wall, I used E-rank Bird to report on the location and the number of magical beasts. The information was quickly passed on to the Generals using drawings. I provided the elves with more information than they could see.
Naturally, their scout bats were shot down with the highest priority.
As soon as they got within a kilometer of us, the bats would be our first priority, no matter how far away they were.
(There's already 300,000 magical beasts in this fortress. They're acting too fast, tripling the number of magical beasts in one day.)
I got the information I had gotten from Ellie who had infiltrated into the Fortress LaPolca.
There were 300,000 magical beasts in Fortress LaPolca at the time of our attack. But just a day before, the number was 100,000, but it seemed that the Demon King's army heard about the elves' advance. As a result, the number tripled in one day compared to the previous day. Thanks to this, the top of the city walls were filled with a great number of magical beasts.
(Why are there more soldiers on the defending side than the attacking one?)
"The crossbow is coming! Everyone take cover behind the defensive wall!"
""!!!!""
While I was thinking, the battlefield continued to change.
A huge crossbow was placed on the outer wall.
These were the weapons that the elves had deployed against large monsters. It seemed that the magical beasts knew how to make good use of the weapons they had taken.
With an explosion, a large arrow was released.
(Mirror, [Total Reflection]!)
"..."
Wordlessly, B-rank Stone raised a round, shiny shield.
The impact of the arrow was transmitted to the shield of B-rank Stone that was targeted. However, the power of the arrow was killed at once.
An arrow with a crushed arrowhead that had completely lost its momentum fell with a thud in front of B-rank Stone. And...
Do-o-o-o-o-o-o!
The damage was all absorbed by B-rank Stone's shield, which tripled in power and bounced back as a glowing shockwave over a wide area.
B-rank Stone's special skill was [Reflection] and its awakening skill was [Total Reflection]. When it is attacked by an enemy, the two could be activated simultaneously.
The special ability [Reflection] doubled [Endurance], including resistance. Then, it bounced the same damage it took back to the attacker.
The awakening skill [Total Reflection] awakening skill tripled its [Endurance], including resistance. It then tripled the damage taken and bounced that damage back to a wide area in front of it.
Cool down time: 1 day
Both special skills and awakening skills would not activate if the B-rank Stone were to be defeated.
(The Fortress is really solid. I think I killed several hundred of them with that move. The outer wall is still intact.)
I paid attention to the outer wall where the magical beasts were standing and Mirror's [Total Reflection] landed.
The power of Mirror's attack was three times greater than that of the crossbow, but even with E-rank Bird, I couldn't find any broken piece of the wall. The wall looked totally fine.
I recalled hearing Sophie's stories about how the city and fortress were formed while on my way there.
Once every 1000 years, a Spirit Grand Mage is born in Rosenheim. It was said that with the help of the Spirits of the Earth, he built numerous city walls, city outskirts, and fortresses.
She also told me that the power of the Spirit Grand Mage was so great that the outer wall that had been built would not weather and would remain strong.
The Demon King's army had attacked the northernmost fortress in this war, but I had heard that the outer wall of that fortress was intact. Since they couldn't destroy the outer wall, they overcame it with the violence of numbers.
(Will this be enough to fight the reserves of the Demon King's army coming from the north? Or is it already too late?)
It was noon and the sun was at its highest point. I checked the time on my magic tool and it was a little after mid-day.
"Well.. Master Allen, I'm afraid it is impossible to capture the fortress with this many people. Why don't we rethink our plan?"
General Lucidral, whom I had met in Nest, looked at me and advised me to change my plan.
In my previous life, people used to say that to win a siege the attacking army should have three times the defending army's number. And in this world too, it was common knowledge that defense was superior to offense.
Looking at the scene in front of us, it was natural to think that it was too reckless for an army of 50,000 to attack an iron-clad fortress guarded by 300,000 magical beasts.
"General Lucidral, there is no problem at all. I was surprised by the increase in the number of magical beasts, but we are still on schedule. Please continue to attack until just before dusk, and then return to the position from which you left."
(I'm sorry to worry you. I haven't completely filled you in on the plan. I'll give you a full update on the operation in the evening, so please forgive me.)
I had only told the Generals and the Queen that I could take down Fortress LaPolca in a short time.
Still, they believed in me and sent out an army of 50,000 because of my past achievements.
"Okay then."
I told them to continue attacking as a matter of course.
"Oh, and as I told you the day before, make sure you tell them not to use their Extra Skill. Victory is imminent."
"Is that so? We can win, can't we?"
"Of course. If we don't win here, Rosenheim has no future."
General Lucidral looked at Sophie as if seeking an answer.
She nodded strongly, meaning to tell him to listen to me.
Allen's friends had such a look in their eyes that none of them doubted Allen's words and victory.
