"We've waited too long.
We can't waste any more time," Breston growled, like a wolf.
He turned his fierce gaze towards Kuahel Leon.
“If you don’t give the order, my men and I will go into battle alone if necessary.”
Kuahel approached Breston with the agility of a jaguar attacking its prey.
His voice boomed with authority as he said, "I am the supreme commander of the coalition army.
I will not tolerate unauthorized operations."
Breston, an imposing figure nearly seven kevettes tall, leaned over menacingly.
“I only take orders from my father, Geyhart Breston, and the King of Balto, Heimdall VI.”
The Temple Knights' commander didn't even blink, even as the gigantic knight towered a head above him.
"I am an apostle of God and the right hand of the pope.
This is a holy war waged by the church, in which you have a duty to obey the will of the apostle."
"Obey?" Breston scoffed, then began to laugh loudly.
When his amusement subsided, he brought his face closer to Kuahel.
“Why bother when I can ask a cleric to absolve me of any sins of disobedience once I return to Amasek?”
With that, he pushed the Temple Knights commander away.
Raising his voice for the hundreds of assembled soldiers to hear, Breston declared, "The enemy knows we're here!
If we don't attack now, this entire journey will have been for nothing!
This is our chance.
We can't give these monsters time to strengthen their defenses!"
His subordinates raised their weapons and shouted in unison.
Like waves spreading across a lake, the insurrection swept through the camp.
Maxi watched the scene, pale.
Quickly getting in front of Breston, she shouted, "W-We can't advance now!
Not when we don't know what happened to the unit we sent to infiltrate the city.
Once we start advancing, the monster army will strengthen its defenses.
I-If the unit is inside the city or trying to enter...
that will only put them in more danger!"
"Look here, little mage.
Did I ask for your opinion?" Breston sneered, clicking his tongue.
Maxi's face turned red with anger.
"L-Let me remind you that you agreed with Riftan's plan at the strategy meeting.
If you were against it...
y-you should have said it then!"
“If you wanted your husband's plan to work, you should have done a better job with the barrier,” Breston snapped, his voice low and intimidating.
Maxi summoned all his courage to stand his ground.
Even for a northerner, Richard Breston was exceptionally large and had the disposition of ten barbarians combined.
Facing him was dangerous.
However, the thought of Riftan being thrown to the wolves because of this man's selfish judgment crushed his fear.
She pretended to be calm and said, "We can still track the goblin.
If we kill him before he can“"
“That won't be possible,” said a despondent voice.
Maxi turned his head at the sound of the interruption.
Albern and Lucain fought their way through the soldiers.
"It appears that magic-negating magical devices are in use.
Master Anton has attempted to track the goblin several times, without success."
“H-How is that possible…?”
"It is decided, then.
Phil Aaron's Knights will go into battle," Breston spat before walking past her to join his subordinates.
When Maxi tried to go after him, Kuahel grabbed his shoulder.
“No amount of persuasion will work on this man.”
“B-But…!”
"His judgment is correct.
If we can't catch the goblin, we have no choice but to attack."
Maxi pushed his hand away, her eyes shining with betrayal.
“Are you saying… that you don’t care what happens to the people who went to the city?”
"We are here to fight a war.
Sacrifices are inevitable."
Animosity rose within her at his cold words.
She wanted to attack him for daring to say that to his face, but she knew she needed to maintain her composure.
Creating a scene wouldn't help his cause at all.
“S-So… I just ask that you give me a little time,” she begged, suppressing her indignation.
"I will send the fairies back to Riftan.
They need to know that the plan has failed."
Kuahel's light green eyes watched her for a long moment.
"Then do it quickly.
But we won't wait for a response."
With that, he walked away towards the Osiriyan soldiers.
Maxi watched him disappear before turning his desperate gaze to Albern.“I'll send a message to Geoffrey,” Albern said first, as if anticipating his words.
“And we must also inform Miriam of the situation.”
“P-Please be quick,” Maxi murmured hoarsely.
The discussion exhausted his last reserves.
She tucked her disheveled hair behind her ear and rubbed her throbbing temples.
I needed to remain calm.
As long as the message reached Riftan's unit in time, they would be able to stay hidden.
Desperately clinging to that hope, she closed her eyes tightly.
Lord, I beg you… please keep them safe.
The camp was now bustling with activity, with soldiers loading carts and knights saddling horses.
Maxi got ready and started running.
The infantry began to march out of the defile in rigid formation, followed by the cavalry.
Hundreds of soldiers pushed and pulled siege weapons at both ends of the procession.
Riding behind a cart carrying a ten-kevette pile of wood, Maxi looked around incessantly.
Ulyseon and four of his subordinates rode to his left, while carts flanked by spearmen quickly passed to his right.
His heart thumped painfully against his ribs with the fear, anxiety, and excitement in the air.
All around him, the soldiers' faces were full of determination and thirst for victory.
She took a deep breath and tried to match their spirit.
“Please be prepared to launch a barrier at any time!” Ulyseon shouted, leading his horse closer.
Holding the reins, Maxi looked at the young knight.
“My lady, the enemy will begin their attack from the outer wall as soon as we approach the city,” Ulyseon said, his purple eyes grim.
“Since we don’t know when or how the attacks will come, you must be alert at all times.”
“I-I know,” Maxi managed to respond.
She wasn't sure if he heard her over all the noise.
The sound of clanking armor and horses' hooves surrounded them, while the deafening rumble of siege tower wheels came from behind.
Practically in a trance, Maxi kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.
The coalition army eventually reached the gentle hills at the end of the gorge, and the soldiers' excitement grew as the silhouette of the monster city emerged above a snowy hill.
As the army sped away, Maxi felt as if she was being carried away by a massive wave of steel plates.
It was like being swept away by a current without knowing where it was going.
She didn't know how long she was in this state, but a strong gust eventually woke her up, followed by a violent snowstorm.
Maxi quickly covered her face with her cloak as a veil of snow turned her vision white.
At this moment, a roar tore through the air.
Her heart racing, she instinctively threw a shield around the carts.
A shiver ran down his spine as he looked up at the top of the hill.
When the snowstorm stopped, she immediately understood what was happening.
Huge fireballs fell towards them from the city walls like hail.
She heard Kuahel Leon's command in the distance.
"Launch a barrier in front!
Prepare catapults!"
Regaining her composure, Maxi looked back.
"Ben!
Please keep the barriers around the wagons with the others.
A-Anette and Armin, with me!"
Maxi urged his horse and passed the soldiers.
This time, a hail of flaming arrows replaced the fireballs.
She hesitated briefly, but Anette pressed her urgently from behind.
"We have no time to waste!
Quick!"
Maxi turned the reins and looked to the top of the walls to measure the distance.
To their horror, they were close enough to clearly see the outer wall surrounding the city and the monsters positioned above it.
Maxi raised a hand to signal the soldiers moving the catapults.
“S-Stop!”
His voice was probably not loud enough as the men kept pushing.
Ulyseon noticed and repeated his command aloud.The soldiers quickly began positioning forty catapults in a long line.
Maxi quickly signaled to Anette and Armin before dismounting and placing his hands on the frozen ground.
A moment later, a slight tremor ran through the land as the ground beneath the catapults began to rise.
She did her best to keep it level, knowing that an uneven or unstable base could topple the massive structures.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Maxi looked up to gauge the distance once again.
When her eyes fell on top of the walls, she saw the trolls along the outer wall, with their huge crossbows aimed directly at them.
“S-Shoot!” Maxi shouted, throwing himself behind a catapult.
The soldiers released the iron hooks that held the catapult arms in place.
The sudden release of the twist in the twisted ropes propelled the huge beams upward, launching large boulders in a wide arc.
Maxi instinctively closed his eyes to avoid seeing the destruction.
A moment later, she peered between the catapult's legs to assess the damage.
The trolls were still hiding behind the battlements, protecting themselves from the attack.
The soldiers took the opportunity to advance towards the gate.