The concerns of Shizuku were quickly substantiated.
A significant amount of magical power, akin to the land veins themselves, was detected from the upper reaches of the Eel River.
However, this magical power was hardly detected even when examining the river water near the city, indicating that it was being extracted somewhere… that is, it seemed to be drawn out using facilities like that water gate.
The river is a pathway.
As a concept, being a pathway, it can certainly be utilized as a route to pass something magically. Since water flows physically, it can be said to be suitable for flowing magical power from upstream to downstream.
Although it is possible, it is certainly arguable whether one would normally think of such a thing and execute it.
In other words, the army of monster is flowing magical power from the Great Forest into the land veins controlled by the Kingdom of Lugarut, and then somehow dropping it into the Eel River and carrying it downstream to the vicinity of Traunil.
Originally, in urban defense battles, the defending side securing the land veins would gain overwhelming superiority in magical power resources.
However, now it was completely reversed.
With the sound of lightning strikes, colorful lights danced in the sky.
It was an attack by magic power projection cannons that did not use physical projectiles.
The bullets of light flew like meteors in broad daylight, hitting the city walls and ramparts only to be offset by defense mechanisms. Magic bullets fired on a trajectory aiming inside the walls were scattered by a wall of light spread out over the city.
Naturally, there were counterattacks from the city side, but the besieging monsters also had defensive fortifications… originally used for urban defense, large-scale barrier deployment devices that consumed magical power, which were preventing counterattacks. Just like the city side, walls of light were deployed to repel bombardment and protect cannons and soldiers.
If the enemy’s defense cannot be penetrated, magical power is wasted. The Blue Army immediately ceased counterattacks and decided to focus on defense.
＊ ＊ ＊
Two days since the siege began.
The incessant sound of cannons disturbed even the sleep of the citizens, fueling anxiety and despair.
On the walls of the rocky fortress’s command room, a graph sloping downwards to the right was drawn.
It was the remaining amount of magic stones stored in the city.
When the magical power runs out and defense becomes impossible, the cannons of the monsters will burn everything.
The situation must be resolved before that. However, amidst constant bombardment and occasional sightings of weapons for anti-personnel attacks, rushing into action without a plan was not an option.
“It seems the reinforcements won’t make it in time after all…”
Shizuku groaned as he looked at the graph.
Reinforcements from the main Blue Army had already been requested via communication, but magical power would likely run out before the reinforcements arrived.
In that case, the only option was to break the siege with the forces at hand and those deployed in the Great Forest. Units in the forest were already preparing for the relief of Traunil.
The amount of magical power available for use in emergencies was decreasing as time passed, so action should have been taken as quickly as possible.
“Commander-dono, may I have a moment?”
“Come in.”
Someone knocked on the door embedded in the rocky wall.
Entering the command room was Shizuku’s adjutant, Ensho. He was a middle-aged man who had served as a soldier in a country conquered by the Empire, and despite his exceptional military talent, he had moved to the Imperial Army due to his family background.
“…Please take a look at this.”
Ensho handed Shizuku a newspaper that looked wrinkled as if it had been trampled by a horse.
“‘Traunil on the Brink of Falling!’ ‘Did the Blue Army Abandon the Citizens?’… What is this?”
“It’s a fake of the ‘Kamulhan Daily’. Dated the day before yesterday, it has almost the same content as the real one, but only some articles have been replaced with ones related to the battle in this city. Just now, a huge bird-like monster crossed over the city and scattered them from there.”
The current situation was explained in a style typical of a newspaper, with satire or manga-like illustrations added regarding the enemy’s stratagem and the depletion of the city’s magic stones. Even though the newspaper itself was fake, the content of the articles was terrifyingly true.
It was enough to stoke the fear of ‘we’ll die if we continue like this’. Even if some rational people might realize it was fake, there weren’t many rational people at the moment.
“There are also things like this.”
Ensho took out a flyer printed with ‘Surrender Notice’ in red letters.
It seemed to be addressed to the citizens rather than the Blue Army, promising to spare lives if they surrendered and opened the city gates, and further providing potions to save the city from the epidemic.
Otherwise, it threatened to massacre everyone alongside the Blue Army and serve them as dead material to the Fallen Kingdom of Ciel-Terra.
“Along with this flyer, about a hundred potions for treating the epidemic were dropped. But they all broke upon impact…”
“Let them prepare to burn the city.”
Shizuku ordered with a weary expression.
“They’re trying to shake us up. But we don’t have to take them seriously. We can’t afford to waste time on formalities; we just have to fight rationally.”
If there was a real intention to defend the city, such tactics might have been effective.
But Shizuku had already decided to abandon the citizens. He was even prepared to turn against them.
Right now, even if they were preventing the city from being bombarded, if the enemy’s aim was magical power depletion, abandoning the city would only lead to concentrated attacks on their positions.
Fortunately, the spread of the epidemic had further separated the city from the positions. Even if they abandoned the city, there would be no problem for the Blue Army to besiege, and by just not allowing magical power to flow, the city would be rendered powerless.
If the people of the city went mad and revolted, they would deal with it.
All they had to do was purify them so they wouldn’t become undead.
There was nothing else to be done, and that was enough for Shizuku.
◇
“Ugh…”
René, who was watching the artillery battle from the golden palanquin that housed the throne, felt something welling up in her chest.
“Princess-sama? What’s wrong?”
“It’s just overeating, so don’t worry. …I think I can fight perfectly fine like this.”
“Is that so?”
Though Alastair beside her was concerned, René’s condition wasn’t actually deteriorating; rather, she was recovering.
René had been injured by some miraculous weapons, said to have been bestowed by the Great God during the past great war, stored by the elves.
Although they had been heavily used in the previous battles and had weakened over time, they were still attacks that could have caused normal undead to disappear.
To recover from these injuries, it would be best to devour high-quality souls, but it would probably be after this battle, the next prey being Salesaya. So, this was the next best thing she could come up with, as a side plan during the siege operation.
The people of Traunil, while fearful of the epidemic, frustrated by the inadequate response of the Blue Army, and scared of the advancing Fallen Kingdom of Ciel-Terra, were also angry at being left to die.
The complex and intense negative emotions rising like echoes within the closed walls were the finest meal for René.
René’s main body was a spiritual being, an Abyssal Spirit, a demon that feeds on the negative emotions of humans.
Exposed to such dense and massive emotions, at least for a short time, René would be in a state where she could conduct combat without any issues. It was somewhat like forcing herself to move with painkillers and camphor, but…
“It seems the enemy army indeed intends to abandon the civilians.”
Alastair remarked while flipping through what seemed to be a bundle of reports.
“They don’t seem willing to become a liability. Any signs of a riot?”
“I’ve managed to get information from merchants who have infiltrated the city; it seems the Blue Army is exerting considerable pressure. Those who could potentially take a leading role are being suppressed. It seems only a matter of time before some kind of incident occurs, but whether it will be on a fatal scale is uncertain.”
“This country has just lost to the Blue Army, after all. There aren’t many people with the spirit to rebel…”
René looked out over the city, which resembled a daytime fireworks display, and savored the emotions emanating from there.
It was indeed a mix of suppressed anger due to helplessness and humiliation trampled upon. It was deliciously intoxicating, but she couldn’t just leisurely enjoy it forever.
It would have been perfect if a riot broke out the moment the Blue Army came out, but it didn’t seem like it would go so smoothly.
“Well, let’s consider their minimum role fulfilled. Continue the attack with the intention of depleting the enemy’s magic stones within two days.”
“As you wish. …They’ll probably make their move soon, tired of waiting.”
René nodded.
She already knew that the units that had fortified themselves in the depths of the Great Forest were preparing to move against them.
To break the siege, there was no choice but to use those units.
And there was one more move.
“…In the Empire, they call formidable individuals ‘Special Combat Soldiers,’ right?”
“Yes. They’re used to strike against formidable enemies on the enemy’s side.”
“They actually have such classifications. It’s more advanced than having each lord command their own vassals.”
“The former Royal Knights of the old Ciel-Terra were similar. They gathered outstanding soldiers from all over the country, regardless of their background, so to speak, the entire knight order was made up of ‘Special Combat Soldiers’… though in terms of quantity, they were far inferior to those of the Empire.”
Unlike the third planet of a certain solar system where René lived in her previous life, in this world there are monster-class strong people even among the humans who can break steel armor with their fists and only get a scratch when stepped on by an elephant. Through accumulating battle experience, they gained supernatural physical abilities beyond the laws of physics.
On the battlefield, they were strategic weapons in human form, posing the greatest threat that could easily scatter a hundred or two hundred soldiers if against ordinary soldiers.
If let loose, they would decide the outcome of the battle. The standard countermeasure against them was to send an equivalent formidable individual against them.
While standardized soldiers engaged in group battles, the clashes between supernatural individuals occurred (where even the aftermath alone could blow away hundreds of soldiers…), making up the battlefield scenery.
Even if one could conduct a one-sided battle, wounds would still be received and fatigue would set in. So, even formidable individuals had to be handled with care if targeted by the enemy’s trump card.
They would only be deployed against ordinary soldiers when it was time to conclude a battle that had become advantageous… or when they had to engage in reckless battles with full knowledge of the risks.
“Let’s prepare our troops as ‘Special Combat Soldiers’ as well.”
“As you wish.”
René, who was absorbing the surrounding emotions, not only of the city of Traunil but also the adjacent Blue Army encampment, had some idea of their situation.
They weren’t hopeful, but they hadn’t yet fallen into despair.
