The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

As soon as dawn broke, the enemies began to swarm again.

Unlike before, the enemy forces now moved all at once.

They seemed determined to breach the castle this time, as they even brought along mobile siege ladders.

The soldiers of Ferdium, upon seeing this, froze in tension.

Although their morale had been high after enduring two days of siege, the sight of the massive army advancing all at once brought an overwhelming sense of pressure.

“Stay strong! We can hold them off today as well!”

Encouraged by Zwalter’s words, the soldiers took their positions and shot arrows fiercely at the oncoming enemies.

Thud! Thud!

However, arrows were not very effective against the enemy, who advanced with shield-bearers at the forefront.

Still, occasionally, the infantry and archers in the rear ranks were struck and fell.

Despite the suppressive fire, a group finally reached the bottom of the castle walls.

The damaged parts of the wall had already been filled with wood, dirt, and rocks.

The enemy, not bothering with that section, attached ladders to various parts of the wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The enemies began to climb up the ladders leaning against the castle walls.

“Stop them! Push the enemies back!”

At Zwalter’s command, the soldiers hurled various weapons down the ladders.

Spiked cylinders were rolled down, and hot water and molten metal were poured continuously.

“Uaargh!”

The enemies, who were climbing with shields raised, could not withstand the fierce defense and fell one by one.

Ferdium’s soldiers also had to fight while keeping their heads down due to the suppressive fire from the enemies at the foot of the wall, making the battle even more challenging.

Fortunately, since the enemy’s assault wasn’t too intense, the casualties were minimal.

‘What’s going on? Why aren’t they moving the siege tower?’

Zwalter’s mind was in turmoil.

When using ladders to climb the walls, the attacking side inevitably suffers greater casualties compared to using siege towers.

Yet the enemies only used ladders, and the siege towers remained completely immobile.

The fact that the enemy wasn’t pressing forward aggressively also seemed suspicious.

It felt as if they were attacking without much care—whether they took the castle or not seemed inconsequential to them.

However, since their numbers were overwhelming, it wasn’t like Zwalter and his men could defend so half-heartedly in return.

Zwalter continued to ponder the enemy’s intentions.

‘Are they trying to undermine the wall’s foundation and bring it down? Or are they planning to dig tunnels to infiltrate?’

He considered other common siege tactics, but none seemed to fit.

There was no sign of any suspicious activity near the base of the walls, and digging tunnels would require more time than the enemy likely had.

By the time the sun began to set, the enemies still hadn’t managed to breach the walls and eventually retreated.

“Woohoo! We held them off again today!”

The soldiers cheered, but it was another victory that felt unsettling, just like the previous day.

Zwalter’s uncertainty didn’t last long. By nightfall, he quickly understood the enemy’s intentions.

“Waaaaah! Attack!”

The enemies launched another assault, this time in the middle of the night. But only about half of their forces were involved.

Even so, half of their forces were still more than Ferdium’s entire army.

“These bastards! They’re trying to wear us out completely!”

Zwalter clenched his teeth and shouted in frustration.

“If we pull back our forces, the defenses will be exposed everywhere!”

Due to the difference in the size of their forces, it was difficult to adopt the same strategy as the enemy.

The enemy had been attacking cautiously, so the casualties weren’t severe, but the fatigue was building up.

The next day, the other half of the enemy, who had rested during the night, would attack again.

Zwalter tried to mirror the enemy’s tactic by pulling back about half of his own forces.

However, the moment he did so, the enemy immediately noticed, as if they had eyes everywhere, and rushed to exploit the weakened sections of the defenses.

‘They’re the enemy, but their commander is incredibly skilled!’

If it weren’t for Ghislain and the mercenaries’ outstanding efforts, they would have already lost control of one side of the wall.

“Brother! The soldiers are completely exhausted,” Randolph cautiously reported. But there was no clear solution.

Though Zwalter tried to rotate the soldiers out for rest, the gap in numbers was too large.

The following day was no different. The enemy, having rested, was noticeably fresher while his own forces were visibly drained.

“Ah, no… I’m exhausted to death.”

“Do we have to keep fighting like this?”

“When will this end? Didn’t they say the enemy has no supplies either?”

The morale of Ferdium’s soldiers plummeted rapidly.

They hadn’t had proper sleep for three days straight.

War itself brings immense stress and exhaustion, but fighting continuously without rest, even at night, quickly depleted the soldiers’ stamina.

Even though Ghislain once again took extreme measures by leaping off the wall, the enemy’s strategy remained unchanged.

When the mercenaries clad in black armor appeared, the enemy soldiers would avoid them, while the knights would gather to contain Ghislain.

As a result, Ghislain couldn’t inflict significant damage and had to retreat.

However, a strange smile played on his lips.

‘Yes, you’re doing well, Viktor. Push yourself a little harder.’

After that, Ghislain and the mercenaries focused solely on defending the walls.

“Young Lord, at this rate, we will be doomed. We must find a solution,” Gillian whispered anxiously, but Ghislain nodded with a cold smile.

“Yes, they’re putting in their best effort. But it’s still not the right time. Just a little longer, hold on.”

Such a strategy wouldn’t usually be employed if the defending side had sufficient manpower and supplies. It would only waste time.

In fact, the attackers could end up suffering greater losses if they weren’t careful.

However, against Ferdium, it was proving to be highly effective.

Zwalter was beginning to seriously question the true purpose and mastermind behind this war.

‘How long have they been preparing for this?’

It was no secret that Ferdium was suffering from a lack of supplies. But still…

‘Those ladders… they were clearly prepared before the war started.’

Ferdium’s walls were relatively lower than those of other places.

Even the ramps of siege towers, when placed against Ferdium’s walls, would slope downward.

And yet, the ladders the enemy had brought were made to fit perfectly to the height of Ferdium’s walls.

This meant the enemy had been planning for this siege months in advance.

‘So, this wasn’t something that started when the traitors defected. Did they start preparing the moment the Runestone was discovered?’

It seemed that spies had already been infiltrating the territory for a long time.

“Count Rogues won’t be coming after all.”

It seemed like any hope of reinforcements had to be abandoned.

The reason they’d lost contact with Count Rogues was obvious.

‘Those bastards must have captured the messengers.’

Now, their last hope was that the enemy would retreat due to supply issues.

The day the currently idle siege towers moved would be the day of their final battle.

‘ Can we hold out until then?’

Zwalter, with weary eyes, gazed at the distant siege towers.

* * *

Meanwhile, Viktor, too, was preparing for the final battle.

Even though they had been leading the battlefield to their advantage, the attrition of his forces was inevitable.

The growing casualties were far from welcome. Minimizing losses was essential to proving his competence as a commander.

Still, he couldn’t afford to simply wait, so he had to proceed cautiously.

“Supplies are running low. Are we going to be alright?” Tamos asked, his tone filled with concern.

One way or another, they had to bring this to an end and secure the Runestone. Without it, Digald wouldn’t be able to recover from the damage sustained in this war.

And if Ferdium somehow managed to counterattack, Digald would face total destruction.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon,” Viktor responded firmly.

The truth—that the day Ferdium fell would also be the end for Digald—was a truth he kept to himself.

‘How much longer can they hold out? Two days? By now, they should be facing serious problems.’

Ideally, Viktor wanted to push harder for three or four more days, but they didn’t have enough supplies for that kind of luxury.

“Press harder,” Viktor ordered, accepting that they might suffer more losses in order to extend the battle for a little longer.

The soldiers of Ferdium, who had been surviving on brief naps, were finding it harder and harder to hold the line.

During all this, Ghislain divided his mercenaries into two groups, ensuring that half rested while the other half fought.

The problem was, the more the mercenaries rested, the more Ghislain had to compensate by moving around himself.

“Young Lord! Have you lost your mind? At this rate, you’ll die!”

“Sir! You need to rest as well!”

Belinda and Gillian tried to stop him, but once Ghislain made up his mind, he pushed forward relentlessly.

“I’m fine. It’s better than resting forever in death, right? Now’s the time to push ourselves,” Ghislain replied nonchalantly, almost too relaxed, prompting Belinda to clutch her chest in frustration.

Two more days passed like that.

The soldiers of Ferdium found themselves facing an even graver crisis.

“We’ve… run out of arrows.”

“Our defense supplies are completely gone.”

As more reports came in from the knights, Zwalter could only lower his head in defeat.

They had expended all their resources in defending against the enemy’s relentless day-and-night assaults.

Even Homerne had done his best to scrape together supplies from the estate, but that, too, had its limits.

‘They were waiting for this.’

The enemy commander had expertly exploited their weaknesses.

Even Randolph, who was usually full of energy, blinked with hollow, exhausted eyes, and the soldiers were all on the brink of collapse from fatigue.

‘This is the end.’

It was a wonder they had managed to hold out this long against such a cautious and calculating enemy.

Without Ghislain, they wouldn’t have lasted this far.

“You seem to be holding up better than the others,” Zwalter remarked.

Ghislain shrugged in response.

“The battle’s not over yet.”

Though his face showed signs of exhaustion, it wasn’t as grim as the others’.

Zwalter hesitated briefly before speaking in a trembling voice.

“When the battle begins… you must lead the mercenaries and leave this place.”

“What are you saying?”

Ghislain looked puzzled, his face showing confusion at his father’s uncharacteristic behavior.

His father had always emphasized the duties and honor of nobility, but now he was telling him to run away.

“Seek refuge with Count Rogues. His wife is your aunt, so she won’t turn you away. He will protect you.”

“Didn’t you say that wasn’t the duty of a noble?”

“…I’m only human, after all. This is not a lord’s will but a father’s heart. Take Elena with you.”

“Do you really think we’ve already lost?”

“Your forces no longer hold sway over the outcome. If we win, we will do so without you. And if we lose, your presence won’t change anything.”

“…”

“Don’t fight with Kane; stay on good terms. There’s no need to cause trouble and then eat away at your pride.”

“…Haha.”

It was rare for Zwalter to joke. Ghislain couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Randolph also approached, placing a friendly hand on Ghislain’s shoulder.

“Young Lord, or rather, nephew, I’ll speak to you plainly now.”

“Since when have you ever not spoken plainly?”

Ghislain’s brusque reply made Randolph grin, showing his teeth.

“It’s been awful working with you. Let’s never meet again. You’ve always been unreliable, but at least in the end, you acted like the true heir of our family and estate. Go and ensure the continuation of our bloodline.”

“I’m not running away.”

“Just go. You need to live if you want to avenge us later.”

Avenge them.

Ghislain smiled slyly as he replied.

“That revenge has already begun.”

“What?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before Randolph could ask what he meant, the sound of the enemy’s war drums echoed.

Rumble!

The three remaining siege towers were also moving.

Everyone could feel it—the final battle was at hand.

Ghislain stared at the approaching enemy before turning his back.

“I’m going to act on my own now.”

As Ghislain descended toward the gates, Zwalter and Randolph stood silently, unable to speak.

A moment later, Zwalter let out a sigh.

“Well, when did that boy ever listen to anyone? At least he’s acting like a noble in the end.”

“Now that things have come to this let’s see it through to the end. Judging by the siege towers moving, today is the last day. If we run out of weapons, we’ll just fight with our fists, right?”

Watching Randolph reignite his determination, Zwalter nodded.

Then, he shouted to the soldiers.

“Everyone, stay strong! Today is our final battle!”

“Whoooaaa!”

At the lord’s declaration, the soldiers raised their weapons and let out a great cheer.

In truth, no one believed that Ferdium could win.

The screams they let out were closer to cries born from their fear of death.

Hearing the cheers from Ferdium’s side, Viktor smirked.

“It’s over now. What tiresome bastards.”

Since yesterday, almost no arrows had flown from the castle.

This was proof that the enemy’s supplies were nearly depleted.

Now was the time to crush them with overwhelming force and claim victory.

“The central army will advance and wait near the gates!”

He stationed the shieldbearers in thick lines at the center of his formation.

“When they’re at their limit, the enemy will open the gates and charge out. At that moment, hit them with magic and wipe out their vanguard.”

The mages standing beside Viktor nodded.

Viktor was certain that when the siege began, the men in black armor would rush out.

In their final moment, they would rely on their specialty—an all-out charge.

‘They probably think it’s their last chance to win.’

But a sudden magical strike would shatter their momentum.

‘I’ve kept my mages hidden for this exact moment.’

Ferdium might have had some clever tricks up their sleeve, but this was the end for them.

“All troops! Advance!”

At Viktor’s command, the entire army began to move at once.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ferdium’s soldiers trembled in despair.

They had held out well up to this point, but today, it seemed impossible to survive.

Only the mercenaries kept their sharp eyes on the approaching enemy, their fighting spirit undiminished.

As Ghislain scanned the mercenaries, his gaze landed on the person standing next to him.

“Vanessa, get ready.”