Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 257: Siege on the Azarin Empire’s capital (IV)

Chapter 257: Siege on the Azarin Empire’s capital (IV)

The next morning seemed deceptively peaceful. For a brief moment, it felt as if the tension from the night before had dissipated. Richard and the other generals this was just the calm before the storm. They had spent the night ensuring the full mobilization of the city’s military forces, and by dawn, nearly twenty thousand soldiers stood ready within the capital.

While the sheer number of troops seemed impressive, Richard and his fellow generals did not allow themselves any sense of comfort. They knew that less than half of these soldiers had received proper military training, and only around five thousand had managed to enter the Level System. The rest were mere mortals and would be little more than cannon fodder if forced to fight in the open.

The generals were keenly aware that reinforcements were needed—especially the Paladins and Priests from the Church of Glory. Unfortunately, those forces, powerful as they were, belonged to Pope Jerom. The man had shown reluctance the previous day, and Richard knew that Jerom would not easily hand over control of his Paladins and Priests.

Richard inhaled deeply, steeling himself as he prepared to approach Jerom on the top of the south wall, determined to convince him to contribute the full might of the Church to the war effort.

Just as Richard was about to reach Jerom, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. His heart skipped a beat, and before he could fully process what he was seeing, a massive explosion erupted on the southern wall.

"What’s happening?" one of the nearby commanders shouted, his voice rising above the sudden chaos.

The soldiers of the Azarin Empire instantly assumed the enemy had made their move, but Richard could see that the enemy troops were still far from the walls. His mind raced as he sought an explanation for the explosion.

Before he could reach a conclusion, two more deafening explosions reverberated through the air—this time from the west and east walls. The ground trembled beneath his feet as the powerful blasts echoed across the capital.

Richard’s heart pounded, but he forced himself to remain calm. Years of battle experience had taught him to respond quickly and decisively in moments of crisis. He immediately began organizing reports from his commanders stationed along the walls, piecing together the situation as fast as possible.

"The east wall!" a messenger cried out, rushing to Richard’s side. "The enemy has launched dozens of boulders that exploded on impact!"

Richard gritted his teeth as he processed the information. The eastern side, where the largest legion was encamped, had launched a siege attack.

Before he could react, another report came in from the west wall. "A massive metallic pillar struck the wall, sir! It’s embedded in the structure!"

Richard’s mind raced as he turned toward the western side of the city. A huge metallic pillar, unlike any conventional weapon he had seen before, had been launched at the wall. Its sheer force and weight had embedded it deep into the structure, threatening to destabilize the entire section.

Finally, Richard turned toward the south wall, the first site of the explosion. His eyes widened as he saw the wreckage and the cause of the blast. Embedded in the wall was a massive, flaming metallic spear.

"They’re attacking the walls from all sides!" one of the officers shouted in panic.

Richard’s mind whirred as he processed the rapid succession of attacks. All of them had landed too fast for the Mages or Warriors of the Empire to intercept. He glanced briefly at Pope Jerom, who did nothing and shook his head in frustration.

Though Richard still needed the Paladins and Priests from the Church of Glory to mount an effective offense, the immediate priority was the integrity of the walls. As he noticed the enemy legions preparing their next barrage, he sent a signal, and the massive thirty-meter white walls glowed with energy.

When the next volley of explosive boulders, metallic pillars, and flaming spears slammed into the walls, the capital’s defenses held firm, repelling the attacks without a flaw. The success of the defense brought wide smiles to the faces of many generals, but Richard was not so content.

The middle-aged man knew that while the walls could repel the barrage of attacks, it cost a massive amount of energy. If they remained on the defensive indefinitely, the energy reserves powering the walls would eventually run dry, leaving the city vulnerable and crippling it’s offensive capabilities that could otherwise turn the tide of the battle.

...

The forces of the Xaos Kingdom continued their relentless assault, each legion employing a different strategy to wear down the city’s formidable defenses. Vlad stood at the forefront of the southern forces, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched the walls shimmer with defensive energy.

By forcing the Azarin Empire to activate their magical matrices, Vlad knew he was draining their energy reserves. The white walls, while formidable, relied on a massive amount of power to maintain their defenses. The longer the Xaos forces pressed their siege, the more the Empire would exhaust its energy, eventually leaving the walls vulnerable to attack.

Vlad’s eyes gleamed with cold satisfaction as he turned his attention to his siege preparations. His forces were well-coordinated, with each member playing a crucial role in the attack.

"Mira," Vlad called out calmly.

Mira, a skilled Royal Guard, stepped forward and summoned a massive metallic spear. Her Gift allowed her to reinforce the metal with supernatural energy, transforming the spear into a weapon far more durable and powerful than normal magic steel.

"Frank, your turn," Vlad said, glancing toward another Royal Guard.

Frank nodded, stepping up to the spear and placing his hands on its tip. His Gift and Bloodline granted him mastery over explosive energy, and with a focused expression, he imbued the spear’s tip with a volatile, destructive force. The spear now crackled with raw power, its explosive potential enough to tear through stone and metal alike.

Satisfied with their progress, Vlad extended his hand toward the spear, his eyes glowing with demonic energy. Lightning sparked across the shaft of the spear as he channeled his power into it, intertwining it with black demon flames. The spear now pulsed with a terrifying combination of elemental and destructive energies.

Finally, Roman stepped forward. His Gift allowed him to manipulate wind with immense precision, and with a focused breath, he summoned a massive gale. The winds coiled around the spear like a vortex, increasing its momentum and amplifying its speed. The weapon now shimmered with lethal intent, every aspect of its creation enhanced to improve its destructive power.

"Now," Vlad commanded, his voice calm but filled with authority.

With a tremendous heave, Roman released the spear, and it shot forward with such velocity that the ground trembled beneath its path. The winds propelled it toward the white walls, three hundred meters away, with such force that the very air seemed to crackle in its wake. The spear struck the wall with a thunderous impact, shaking the entire structure. Though the defensive energy of the wall repelled the direct damage, the strike sapped a significant portion of the wall’s protective energy, just as Vlad had intended.

From the east, the Golden Wave Legion took a different approach. Hundreds of mages, combined their energy to create dozens of massive, exploding boulders. The stones shimmered with power, glowing faintly as the Mages imbued them with explosive energy. The rocks were then placed into a giant slingshot, specially crafted for the siege.

Grand Marshal Anglius, the towering, nine-meter-tall giant clad in golden armor, took his position at the slingshot. He rotated the slingshot full of bolder faster and faster over his head, using all the strength he could muster. As the boulders gained speed and centrifugal force, Anglius released them, sending the explosive projectiles hurtling toward the eastern wall with incredible force.

The boulders exploded on impact, sending shockwaves through the wall’s structure, forcing the magical matrices to absorb the brunt of the damage. The strain on the capital’s defenses increased with each successive strike.

On the western side, the strategy was no less effective. The 19 Bloodline Soldiers positioned themselves in a row. Each of them supported a massive metallic pillar on their shoulders, their combined strength and energy focused on charging the weapon. The pillar glowed with an ethereal light as the soldiers poured their power into it, reinforcing its structure and enhancing its destructive potential.

At the back of the group stood Freya, the commander of the Shadowstrike Legion. When the energy reached its peak, Freya dashed forward, her body moving in a blur as she used the full momentum and force of her enhanced strength to strike the pillar, sending it flying toward the western wall. The pillar tore through the air like a missile, crashing into the wall with a deafening impact.

Each strike, whether from the south, east, or west, sapped more of the wall’s energy, slowly but steadily wearing down the defenses.