In the moment when the light cannon veered off course, the magitech cannon that fired Yuan was also exposed within the half-Elf archer's line of sight, even though it was only for that brief moment, it was enough.
The arrow, charged with a large amount of wind element magic, soared out of the bowstring, with the wind element at the tip bursting along the path propelled by the bowstring, forming a vacuum track, while the rear end, in addition to the bowstring's power, also had magical propulsion, instantly enhancing the speed and power of this arrow several times over.
The green light arrow crossed the distance from the city wall to the Grilewes position in an instant, impacting the magical barrier, piercing through completely after about a second, turning the surrounding two gunners into a blaze of fire.
With the magitech cannon cleared, the pressure on Gilliast's city defense immediately eased significantly. Nevertheless, the soldiers of Grilewes continued to advance, while the semi-automatic magic rifles' efficient and stable firepower easily suppressed the defenders on the city walls using short bows for retaliation.
Firearms versus bows and arrows... were simply not on the same level of firepower. The accuracy and sustained firepower far exceeded by several levels, and it was fortunate that the magic rifle units of Grilewes were not numerous, yet they almost overwhelmed the defenders on the city walls, making it difficult for them to look up.
"My lord... My lord?!"
The half-Elf archer showed a surprised expression after achieving success with a shot, but when looking for Justice, who had just taken the light cannon shot for her, Justice was nowhere to be seen, only traces on the ground indicating that he had been pushed directly under the wall by the impact of the cannon.
"Do not let them get closer! Engage in layered interception, watch the arrow consumption!"
Justice withdrawing from the battlefield did not cause the guards to panic. The knight captain of the encampment automatically took over command and continued to defend according to the planned tactics.
Initially, they were worried that the castle did not have enough arrow reserves to deal with the war, but now it seemed entirely unnecessary.
Even though archers were still raining arrows on the walls and the front courtyard grass area, with Grilewes' advancing efficiency, they would be pushed to the gates before the arrows ran out.
"Boss! Look over there at the gate!"
Sharp-eyed guards on the city walls caught sight of something unusual. Grilewes' formation split open as a soldier, escorted by two shield-bearing comrades, rushed over with a long stick tied on one end with some heavy object.
An ominous feeling immediately descended on every guard on the city walls. Someone immediately intended to snipe the enemy's charger, but the enemy's rear magic rifle team promptly raised their guns and opened fire, causing four or five guards to fall off the wall in a volley of blood.
The enemy had reached the gates. To shoot accurately from this angle, one would have to lean out of the walls, which was no different from offering oneself as a target in the situation where the enemy was armed with nearly a hundred magic rifles.
In just a few short seconds of being suppressed, the charger had reached the gate. With an explosive tube made of fire elemental magic crystals, in the blink of an eye, it blew half of the gate off, while the other side collapsed under this intense impact. The remaining infantry that were already prepared immediately rushed toward the gate.
They were welcomed by an unrelenting rain of arrows.
Fully exposed in the broad view, they were easy targets for the longbow team; this time, not even observers were needed. Their longbows were more powerful than the standard short bows on the city walls. The ordinary Grilewes infantry that had just charged in did not have advanced gear like magical shields, so they were immediately mowed down like wheat being harvested.
The guard unit already prepared on the front courtyard also charged forward under the cover of the longbows, forming spear formations to block the blown-open gate, plunging into a bloody and fierce melee.
The longbowmen in the back row abandoned their long bows after getting caught in the melee, drawing their swords from their waists and joining the battle. Despite their armor being much inferior compared to regular infantry, they couldn't care less at this moment.
In fact, once the close combat began, Gilliast's defending soldiers were not as suppressed as expected. Instead, they gained an advantage in terms of casualties ratio due to the exceptional personal skills of their soldiers.
After all, for the soldiers of Grelus, most of their equipment was no different from soldiers of other countries. Magitech cannons, magic shields, and magic muskets—these standardized items formed only a small part, not to mention the immensely powerful magitech weapons.
"Get out of the way!" Perez concentrated his Chi on the sword blade, creating a small shockwave to push back two approaching enemies. Seizing the moment while the enemies were off balance, he swung his sword horizontally, effortlessly slicing through their metal breastplates enhanced by Chi, splashing blood in the air as he completed a double kill.
After the enemies fell in front of him, Perez had a moment to catch his breath. As he scanned for the next foe, he noticed that the castle defenders had successfully contained the enemy, maintaining the battle line around the destroyed gate entrance.
The chaotic skirmish reduced the chances of deploying high-powered magic explosives like before, and the narrow terrain made it difficult for the enemy to capitalize on their numerical advantage.
At such times, the best choice was to rely on exceptional warriors to hold the line, denying the enemy any chance to regroup and advance. Luckily, the castle had many individuals suited to this role, including a dozen or so guard captains and several skilled mercenaries, Perez among them.
"Jeff, Boland, come over here! Let's go—"
As Perez attempted to call out, a sudden sharp pain struck his chest. A strong metallic scent surged up his throat, and in the rapidly darkening vision, blood and visceral fragments flowed out from his chest as if a dam had burst, a sight he had last seen when a comrade's major artery was severed.
Many soldiers, like Perez, were caught off guard by magical bullets piercing through them in the melee. The enemy gunners who were initially positioned in the rear had now sneaked to the front lines, using these precious weapons for close-quarters combat.
With a decreased distance, the accuracy of the magical muskets soared. As long as a warrior without Chi mastery did not dodge the bullets, they would be rendered ineffective. Faced with this disadvantage, the defense line that was holding firm at the main gate quickly crumbled.
More and more Grelus soldiers surged into the front courtyard, staining the soil below with splattered blood. Countless boots trampled the ground into a muddy mess as bodies fell, their warm forms gradually turning cold...
By the time the defenders realized the outer wall had been breached, the Grelus forces had nearly all entered through the gate and were subtly encircling the remaining defenders.
The battle raged on, but if things continued as they were, they might be completely surrounded and wiped out in the courtyard.
"We have to retreat! Fall back inside the castle!"
"Where's the one who was leading before? Justice is injured, what about the captain?!"
"He's dead! Damn it, who cares about the captain now? Retreat quickly!" These were the prevailing thoughts among the mercenaries. Yet, every soldier understood that dispersing at a time like this would only result in being hunted down mercilessly.
A team had to stay behind to cover the retreat, but with the only two capable commanding leaders down, no one could make that decisive call.
"Magic explosion!" Just as the defenders were wavering, a sudden warning from an unknown voice made everyone dread the impending catastrophe.
Raising his head, indeed, a spherical shadow was hurled from the enemy camp and fell towards the rear of the defending army’s formation.
Oversight. As the battle line was pushed back to the courtyard, the formations of both sides shifted once more. While the front lines were still engaged in chaotic fighting, the rear ranks for each side were pure camaraderie. The bomb that was thrown from the sky, although smaller in size than the blasting tube used to breach the gate, would undoubtedly cause extensive casualties once it landed in the military formation.
Upon impact, chaos erupted in the rear, allowing the front line to break through effortlessly. Gilliast's defense forces collapsed completely, an outcome that had been anticipated.
However, a sword halted the path to this conclusion.
A figure leaped from the rear of the army, wielding a plain and unadorned knight's longsword. With precise accuracy, the sword intercepted the incoming bomb in mid-air. Unfortunately, his original intention was to bat the bomb back like a baseball, but that magical bomb...seemed to be of the instant detonation kind.
Blinding magical radiance burst in mid-air; fire elements engulfed everything within a five-meter radius, with heat waves directly sweeping across the ground, causing burns to the soldiers below the explosion.
Yet this was still a better outcome compared to the explosion within the crowd.
Amidst the flames, the valiant hero who had stepped forward bore the impact of the explosion and fell to the rear of the military formation.
Surprisingly, at that proximity to withstand a direct explosion, he had not perished.
*Cough, cough...* "Mercenary squads retreat in succession. The defense will be temporarily entrusted to the guard unit. Squads seven through twelve have suffered significant losses. Following the mercenaries' retreat into the castle, they will also retreat in turn. The rest will hold the line with me until the very end before withdrawing."
Justice, coughing, propped himself upright with a sword, standing up. Grateful that he had fortified his magic resistance with the Sword of Growth, along with the protective *Chi* covering his body, he barely withstood the ordeal.
Despite the not-so-promising wounds he had sustained from the light cannon blast and the fall from the city walls earlier, he knew he had to endure these times.
Pondering, he rallied his spirits and, with his heavily injured body, lifted the Sword of Growth once more and moved forward.
Justice was unsure how long it would take for reinforcements to arrive, or if there might not even be any so-called "reinforcements." After all, even the Beacon City might have fallen. What value did this castle, abandoned by the prince, hold for the kingdom’s army to dispatch troops specifically to recapture it in the midst of a major crisis?
Yet, that was none of his concern.
He was the prince's steward; before the prince’s return, she entrusted her home to him. Therefore, he would defend this place until the prince returned, then welcome her back with freshly brewed tea and carefully prepared pastries for afternoon tea.
As a country formerly prefixed with the title "Holy," the proportion of Milanía's citizens who believed in the Goddess of the Light was high, but Justice was not a believer.
But at this moment, he earnestly prayed to the divine from the depths of his heart, hoping that his sword would cut down all oncoming foes and his brewed pot of fine tea would await Tiran Elysian's return.
