Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

They were helpless to do anything about the Northern Army’s tendency to marginalize its own Vassals.

"Don’t worry. Once you succeed the throne, you can crush the arrogance of these Northern People to let me vent a little." Levi seemed to be imagining the day Liya ascended to the Duke’s seat, with him at her side as the Duke’s Hand, wielding a Holy Sword and clad in shining Golden Plate Armor.

’If anyone dares to speak out of turn, I’ll just lop their head off with one swing.’

"Mhm." Liya pumped her little fist, as if cheering herself on.

...

The soldiers spent two days gathering timber, and the army’s carpenters and Blacksmiths spent another five days building war machines.

That week became the last period of peace both inside and outside Black Stone Castle.

One side hunkered down, avoiding battle and defending Black Stone Castle to the death, while the other worked in full swing to build siege weaponry with great fanfare. This formed a brief, unspoken understanding.

Of course, the Northern Army also kept a close watch on Black Stone Castle, hoping their enemy would sally forth for a night raid on the logistics camp. But the defenders remained motionless, as if they had accepted their fate, much to the disappointment of many.

This tranquility was shattered today, just as the sun began to illuminate the land and the soldiers had finished their breakfast and warm-ups.

It was also the moment when two clear, melodious bells rang out from the only church in Black Stone Castle.

A light mist still hung in the air, and patches of snow clung to the grass where new shoots had just begun to sprout. Towering Siege Vehicles and Cloud Ladders, like Giant Beasts parting the morning fog, began to advance slowly.

The slumbering military camp finally awoke. A dense tide of at least ten thousand soldiers poured from the encampment. The synchronized rhythm of their footsteps made the earth tremble, and the clanging of their Armor was crisp and clear.

They formed neat ranks and marched toward the besieged Black Stone Castle.

"Infantry, shields up for cover! Archers, advance with the Siege Vehicles and provide suppressive fire!" The officers roared at the top of their lungs. At this moment, the soldiers had become a single, colossal war machine that required human control.

Their minds were blank. There was only one command: advance! Keep advancing!

It was impossible to hide the movement of such a large army. Fortunately, both sides had been preparing for a long time, and the defenders of Black Stone Castle began to mount an orderly defense.

WOOOOOM!

The deep, desolate sound of a horn blasted, traveling thousands of paces to echo across the sky and reach everyone’s ears.

It raised the curtain on the great battle.

The first to make their move were the noble Ice and Snow Mages. After many days, they finally emerged from their warm tents.

As their chanting concluded, a dozen or so massive, translucent ice-crystal platforms, each a good seven or eight blades high, rose out of thin air.

Thunder Lizard Beasts, standing three blades high at the shoulder and weighing several thousand pounds, were bound with thick ropes, hauling several dauntingly tall Catapults.

As soldiers cracked their whips, these Servant Beasts—possessing great stamina and immense Power and used for hauling heavy logistics—began to grunt and strain, moving forward slowly.

SQUEAK... CREAK...

Pulled by the strenuous efforts of a dozen Servant Beasts, the massive contraptions finally began to inch forward, climbing the ice-crystal ramp little by little until they came to a steady stop on the platforms, which were much harder than they looked.

At this height, they were nearly level with the walls of Black Stone Castle. This greatly increased the Catapults’ range, allowing them to fire without being threatened by the enemy’s own catapults.

These Ice and Snow Mages certainly had a few tricks up their sleeves. By expending just a small amount of Magic Power to create the ice-crystal platforms, they had increased the strike range of their own Catapults.

Especially in this still-frigid season, the platforms would melt at an unimaginably slow rate, enough to last through the entire battle without needing more Magic Power to maintain them.

As a dozen Giants chanted, their veins bulging, they turned the winches. The throwing arm was pulled down by the chains, simultaneously raising the heavy counterweight high into the air.

"Let’s show this Southern scum what we’re made of!"

The one commanding these Catapults was a Count named Winter. These Giant Demon Warriors were the Alien Race unit he had formed.

Due to their immense Power, they were assigned to turn the Catapults’ winches.

"Fire!" he roared.

The mechanism was triggered. With a RATTLE of metal, the chains flew free, and the counterweight dropped in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the stones took flight, hurtling toward the castle walls. A moment later, a series of dull thuds followed. The vast majority of the stones missed the walls entirely; they either flew far overhead or plowed trenches into the ground a few paces from the wall. Only a handful struck true, sending stone fragments flying.

But this was just a test shot. The craftsmen immediately began to recalibrate, and the rough stones were replaced with specially polished stone balls.

With the second volley, dozens of stone balls arced through the air and fell toward the walls.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

A violent explosion echoed out, and the walls themselves seemed to tremble slightly.

But anyone who understood knew this was just an illusion created by the stunning visual impact.

The stone balls shattered into shrapnel that flew in all directions. The fragments had the force of a heavy shot from a Bed Crossbow. A few unlucky souls were struck and immediately fell to the ground, howling in agony.

If the Catapults were to pound the walls for a full day and night, the fortifications of Black Stone Castle would surely crumble. Unfortunately for the attackers, the Casters defending the castle were not dead.

As the third volley of catapults was launched, the enemy responded with a torrent of multicolored Molding Magic, unleashed as if it cost nothing. The spells collided violently with the stone balls in mid-air.

Accompanied by a surge of Elements, the stone balls exploded into fragments in mid-air. The shockwave sent a fierce wind tearing at everyone’s clothes.

Naturally, the Ice and Snow Mages wouldn’t just stand by and watch the enemy Casters interfere. They began to hurl their own intercepting Magic at Black Stone Castle—Ice Spike Technique, Wind Blade Skill, Water Arrow.

The two sides’ Magic met in mid-air, exploding and annihilating each other. A brilliant display of various Elements filled the sky, like a grand fireworks show.

But the number of enemy Casters was pitifully small. They were soon suppressed by the Ice and Snow Mages, unable to even raise their heads.

Once their Magic Power was depleted, they could no longer withstand the relentless bombardment from the Ice and Snow Mages and could only watch as the Catapults pounded the walls.

The Ice and Snow Mages unleashed a few more rounds of Magic at the walls, then quickly drank the Magic Potions provided by the Duke of the North, seizing the time to recover their Magic Power.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is no such thing as free Magic. Spells with astonishing power often come with an equally astonishing Magic Power cost.

Casting Magic was simple, but recovering Magic Power wasn’t so fast. Even with the Magic Potions that Fulina had created from Magic Crystal Ore, it still took time for them to take effect. For at least the next ten minutes, the Ice and Snow Mages would be out of action.

The Northern Soldiers scaling the walls were a long line of men armed with Shields and War Axes, perfectly suited for climbing Cloud Ladders and fighting in the melee on the battlements.

Taking advantage of the enemy Casters’ depleted Magic Power, the soldiers quickened their pace.

But just as they neared the walls, countless rocks rained down from above. Larger than a man’s head, the stones gained terrifying momentum during their vertical drop.

A single volley crushed a number of unlucky souls to death.

Watching their comrades fall beside them, these Northern Soldiers could almost hear their own hearts pounding. But at a time like this, retreat was not an option.

They roared as they climbed the Cloud Ladders, charging toward the walls.

To be honest, they reached the halfway point with surprising ease, a smoother climb than they could have imagined.

But just then, a SPLASHING sound came from above.

They looked up to see boiling excrement. The scalding filth flowed through the gaps in their Armor and onto their bodies. In an instant, they were screaming and tumbling from the ladders.

Some soldiers with Shields huddled behind them, terrified of suffering the same fate. But the stench filling the air was nauseating enough to make one retch.

The smell truly tested the limits of human endurance.

"How brutal!"

The Lord watched in awe through his spyglass.

Although these besieging soldiers were well-equipped, they were only ordinary troops. Their purpose was to deplete the enemy’s defensive supplies and stamina.

After all, the officers of the Northern Army never expected to take Black Stone Castle in the first wave.

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