Emperor of Steel

Three days later, the army of Symphonia Kingdom arrived in front of Sherwood city.

It took them three days to reach the city because they had packed a lot of logs to build their own bridge and other transports for the siege.

It wasn’t just that, they had to manage to leave someone in charge of the defeated forts or the abandoned ones, and also to a riverside fort for their stay.

And then there was the aspect of trailers which were holding heavy Gigants.

“Please give the orders! We can fire at them right away!”

“I guess everyone is motivated. But we will have to hold back.”

Belik, tapped the shoulder of the artillery commander and stared at Sherwood which was surrounded by water.

Approaching him, Philip reported.

“We have been contacted by the spies who mixed with the Sherwood soldiers.”

“Good, what did they say about the internal situation?”

When asked by Belik, Philip responded with a troubled expression.

“It was said that the preparations of the siege are meticulous. The southern army might be supported by the northern army, and the identifications are being held thoroughly.”

As numerous spies who were caught were either arrested or executed, the remaining spies were all hiding in the undergrounds and had a tough time contacting their men.

And because of that, it was turning impossible to start an internal riot or disturb the peace.

“That is unfortunate. We have no other hand to attack the Sherwood.”

“Just as Count Ferrero said, Commander Darland seems to be a capable one.”

“Yeah, it looks like it, he is called as the Star of Battlefield, I guess it was a name given for a reason.”

“But we still have a lot of force left?”

“Right.”

Belik looked at the black trailer which was behind them.

The trailer was loaded with cargo wrapped tightly in oiled cloth.

The cargo was specifically given by Luke, telling him that it would help in taking down Sherwood.

And Belik too thought that it would play a decisive role in the battle.

“When are the reinforcements of the Baroque Empire arriving?”

“According to the intelligence, the morale of the army is extremely low and the trailers are constantly breaking down, so maybe a week or so…”

“A week, huh… and we will have to take down Sherwood before that.”

If any normal person would have heard Belik’s words, they would have declared him insane.

The city of Sherwood was located on an island that was in the middle of the river, and it had numerous slopes and walls around it, which was very difficult for a siege to happen.

However, it wasn’t just Belik, but Philip too thought that they were capable enough to go for an attack in a week.

There were still many cards they haven’t used yet.

“A full-scale siege will begin tomorrow. Let the soldiers have some rest today. However, don’t neglect in securing the borders, the enemy can strike at any time.”

“Understood, Arch Duke.”

Once orders were given, Philip left Belik alone.

Belik, who was still looking at Sherwood, had a smile on his face.

Pung! Pupung!

Bang! Kwang!

The next day, Symphonia Kingdom started their attack along with the sunrise.

With the artillery at front, they relentlessly shot shells towards the walls and the gates.

During that time, the engineers were trying to reach the rebuilt broken bridges with materials such as tools and logs.

“Hurry! Don’t waste the cover which the artillery is providing us!”

“The victory or defeat of this battle depends on us!”

The Southern Army of Baroque wasn’t watching all this mess happen silently either.

They were using the cannons mounted on the walls, they fired shells at the artillery unit of Symphonia and their engineers.

The Gigants’ riders helped in bouncing off the shells with their huge shields and also in loading the cannons.

“Doesn’t it look like we are assistant to artillery?”

As the rider was grumbling for not liking what he was ordered to do, a colleague came and spoke to him to soothe it.

“Don’t go around being impatient. Once the bridge gets repaired, it is all ours.”

“Well, that is if the bridge can be repaired…”

The Southern Army shelling was more focused on the engineers than the artillery.

The engineers too were provided with Gigants to assist and help them out, but the space on the bridge was too small and the huge numbers could be placed on the bridge because of the Gigant’s weight.

“Yeah, that…!”

When the shells were smashing the bridge, the riders could only click their tongues.

“This can’t be done. If we don’t spread out attack methods on the enemy…!”

“I guess that has to be done.”

Arch Duke Belik ordered for a series of infantry units to be rafted into the river.

The Southern army which witnessed the move turned towards them.

“Sir! The enemy infantry unit is trying to enter.”

“Disperse the shelling and stop them! If there aren’t enough cannons, then go for the catapult! If they don’t exist, use the Gigants to throw heavy rocks on them!”

At the command of Count Darland, some of the cannons on the walls were moved to fire at the rafted fleet, and the catapults which were considered to be old fashioned were being pulled out of the warehouses.

Bang! Bang!

Splashes of water soared high because of the shelling, but the troops of Symphonia didn’t stop rowing their boats.

Rather, they attempted a counterattack with the large crossbow which was mounted on their rafts or used a smoke screen.

“Cheer up! It won’t be long…”

“Uak!”

The rafts which were approaching the island were smashed by shellings or rocks fired from the catapults.

It wasn’t just that, the soldiers were crumbled with the rocks which the Gigant’s were throwing from the walls.

“They are going to die.”

“This can’t go on. Pull them out. And the engineer squad too.”

A loud trumpet was sounded as a sign of retreat orders from Belik, the Baroque army on the walls were cheering for their victory on the first day.

“Woah! We won!”

“Cheers for the Baroque Empire!”

But, no matter how cheerful the men were, Count Darland’s face didn’t change.

It was because he was thinking about the enemy, the damage from the enemy artillery was much more than he expected.

The enemy’s shells were always on spot, which meant that their shelling was accurate.

‘I always thought that shelling of such level would be only in the Volga Republic or in the Grenada Kingdom…’

But whatever it was, it proved that things were only going to get tougher.

Count Darland, who had no time to think about the pessimistic thoughts, immediately gave orders for his lieutenant.

“The enemy’s scout might go upstream or downstream. Release our scout troops and monitor the riverside constantly.”

“Understood, sir.”

Commander Darland ordered the artillery commander on the wall to prepare for a second attack.

In particular, their defense was asked to be increased.

However, the Symphonia Kingdom didn’t attack anymore.

And the first day’s engagement in war ended with the victory on the Baroque side.