Lord of Rot

Now that the number of guards was clear, there was no longer any need to waste time.

Baron Ross's original plan had been to simply surround the castle without attacking. He figured that a lone fortress built on a cliff would, given enough time, fall on its own.

However, the recent fighting revealed that the enemy's supplies seemed to be exceptionally plentiful.

A war of attrition was clearly out of the question. What's more, a growing number of Soldiers were reporting strange and terrifying sights. To prevent his legion's morale from collapsing, Baron Ross had no choice but to break the castle's defenses as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, Leech had arrived, giving him someone to consult with.

The other minor nobles were useless. Their militias were a paltry few, mostly just Mercenaries they'd hired by selling everything they owned, and a few farmers armed with pitchforks.

"Lord Leech," Baron Ross said, looking at Leech, "Iron Wall Castle is easy to defend and hard to attack. What are your thoughts?"

Leech said, "I'll lead a direct assault."

'I'm already here, so there's no chance to slack off. Besides, who claims victory in this siege is crucial.'

"A direct assault?" Ross hadn't expected Leech's plan to be so reckless.

'They say Baron Porcupine is a brute, but leading the charge himself isn't just brutish—it's brainless.'

'Even though there are only a hundred men on the walls, they have bows and crossbows, not to mention a ballista. Otherwise, my two thousand men wouldn't have been unable to take the castle.'

He thought Leech hadn't understood him and spoke again. "Lord Leech, the walls of Iron Wall Castle are forty feet high. A ladder assault is extremely dangerous."

"We could build a battering ram," Baron Ross suggested. "Breaking through the gate and charging in would be much simpler than scaling the walls."

Making a battering ram was, of course, possible.

But there was another problem. No proper road had been built up to Iron Wall Castle. The path was jagged with rocks, making it difficult enough to run or even walk in armor. A battering ram would be impossible to push up the slope.

Besides, Leech had observed from a distance that Iron Wall Castle's gate was far sturdier than a typical castle's. Using a battering ram to break it would just be a waste of men's lives.

Leech stated with conviction, "I will lead my men onto the walls and open the gate from within."

"Since Lord Leech has made up his mind..." Tyler Rose decided not to argue further. 'If Leech dies on that wall, I'll just write a letter to the Duke.'

'Anyone can be the lord of Iron Valley. All I care about is completing my mission.'

The other nobles were more than happy to let Leech lead the charge. It would save them from having to expend their own forces.

'Leech fighting his way onto the walls? Our two thousand men couldn't do it. What makes him think he can?!'

Leech took the hardwood shield from his squire and strapped it to his left arm with its leather fasteners. He then gave his orders. "Lacy, you'll be at the front carrying the siege ladder. The rest of you, follow behind to keep it steady. Stay in formation."

This is where Lacy's weight-reducing Extraordinary ability would come into play.

The walls of Iron Wall Castle were forty feet high. The long siege ladders they had built would take five or six men to even budge, and their weight made it impossible to move quickly.

But if Lacy could bear the brunt of the weight, just one or two men would be needed to steady the ladder from behind, allowing them to advance at full speed.

Lacy nodded firmly. "Yes, my lord!"

"Quickblade!" Leech turned to the man. Although not a Transcendent, Quickblade was an experienced warrior. "No firearms in this battle. Everyone, switch to cold steel. After Lacy and I secure the wall, the rest of you follow close behind. Remember, your priority is to hold the ladder."

Firearms were only useful when friend and foe were clearly distinguished. In a chaotic siege, you were just as likely to shoot one of your own.

Quickblade answered, "Yes!"

With all preparations complete, the Soldiers swapped to shields and one-handed swords or axes. They formed a shield wall, protecting their heads and bodies.

Under the sun, the troop's armor glinted with a silvery metallic sheen. Holding high their shields painted with the Porcupine sigil, they advanced in silent, orderly ranks.

SWOOSH!

An arrow sliced through the air in an arc and embedded itself in the ground before Leech, its shaft quivering.

Leech glanced up at the walls of Iron Wall Castle. The defending Soldier, seeing his shot had missed, was in no hurry. He simply looked down, braced the crossbow with his foot, and slowly drew the string.

Fighting from a higher elevation, the enemy held every possible advantage.

Leech gripped a javelin. He took a deep breath, summoned his strength, and drew his arm back, his entire body tensing like a fully drawn greatbow.

And then, he hurled it!

The motion was so violent it seemed to make the air crack with a sharp POP.

The Soldier, still bent over cocking his crossbow, caught a glimpse of the soaring javelin in his periphery. Startled, he dropped his weapon and fell back on his rear.

Ultimately, the javelin couldn't cover such a great distance. After reaching the apex of its arc, it fell, striking the stone wall with a CLANG before its momentum gave out and it tumbled back to the ground below.

"Phew..." The Soldier breathed a sigh of relief.

"What kind of monster is he? Throwing a javelin at us from all the way down there!" For a split second, he truly thought he was going to die.

When he looked back down at the approaching troop, he no longer dared to expose himself, peering cautiously over the edge.

But what he saw shocked him all over again. 'What kind of troop is this?'

The previous assault teams had been slow and cumbersome, especially the men tasked with protecting the ladder-bearers. Their advance had been no faster than a slow walk.

But this group below was different. They were sprinting, their movements swift yet orderly, like a giant serpent of silver armor.

And their leader—the young noble who had nearly skewered him with that javelin—was sprinting up the mountain path as if he were flying just above the ground.

...

Leech wasn't surprised that his javelin hadn't found its mark. If he could really pick off Soldiers from the base of the wall, he wouldn't need to storm it at all; he could just act as a human ballista and eliminate all hundred-odd defenders himself.

They had entered the enemy's kill zone, but the defenders on the walls were still out of his own men's reach. The longer they remained exposed, the more dangerous it became.

He yelled, "Pick up the pace!"

The sounds of panting breath and pounding feet would have drowned out Leech's command, but Quickblade's whistle immediately trilled, relaying the order.

Leech's javelin throw seemed to snap the defenders out of their lax state. They woke up and began to fight back in earnest.

That one javelin toss was like lighting the fuse on a black powder bomb; Iron Wall Castle's counterattack suddenly became ferocious.

SWISH SWISH SWISH! A rain of arrows fell, occasionally punctuated by a massive ballista bolt. But because Leech's men were moving so fast, the ballista bolts always landed far behind the Porcupine troop.

Leech held the shield strapped to his arm high, and it rang with a staccato THUD THUD THUD. The falling arrows and crossbow bolts struck with immense force, making his arm tremble.

In just a few moments, Leech's shield, as well as Lacy's behind him, were studded with at least fourteen or fifteen arrows. More were stuck in their armor, making them look like hedgehogs.

It was a good thing they had a Transcendent at the vanguard. A regular Soldier would have been pinned down, unable to advance another step.

The troop finally reached the base of the wall.

The siege ladder went up. Several men strained to raise it against the wall.

BOOM!

A deafening crash.

Two Soldiers behind Leech were sent flying by a ballista bolt, crashing to the ground, their fate unknown. They slammed into several others as they fell, throwing the formation into brief chaos.

TWEEET—!

Quickblade blew his whistle, and the chaotic formation quickly found its rhythm again.

They continued to raise the ladder.

On the wall, the crew of the ballista was slowly reloading.

'I have to get up there and deal with that ballista!'

Leech had no desire to be on the receiving end of that thing.

As soon as the ladder was vertical, Leech held his shield in front of him with his left hand, gripped a rung with his right, and launched himself upwards in a powerful leap.

He scrambled up like a leopard. The ladder had just been steadied, but in a mere two or three steps, Leech was already halfway up.

The militiamen on the wall were stunned by Leech's speed.

'He closed the distance in the blink of an eye! One more blink, and he'll be on top of us!'

Nearly all the arrow fire concentrated on him, the impacts almost knocking him off the ladder. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, held it, and powered through, continuing his climb, albeit at a much slower pace.

"Hm?"

The militiaman who had nearly been skewered by Leech's javelin was waiting with his crossbow. He had anticipated Leech's head appearing over the wall and was ready to put a bolt through it. But there was nothing. It was quiet.

Just as he was wondering what was going on...

A shield suddenly appeared over the edge of the wall.

He fired his crossbow reflexively.

THWACK!

As expected, the Crossbow Arrow struck the shield, becoming yet another quill on the painted Porcupine.

A hand gripping a single-handed sword shot out from behind the shield.

With a sickening squelch, the sword plunged into his left eye socket and pierced through his brain.

Hoisting his shield, Leech vaulted over the parapet and finally landed on the wall!

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