The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 984: Volume 32 Dark Clouds Roll In - 2 Got It

Chapter 984: Volume 32 Dark Clouds Roll In Chapter 2 Got It

Dragumo’s strategy proved to be quite effective. The north and south wings of the castle were firmly under the control of the half-beasts without much effort, and the Knossos soldiers, caught unprepared for such a ferocious assault, were quickly routed. By the time they realized what had happened, the half-beast army had already seized control of the two castles, while the remaining half-beasts were relentlessly slaughtering the still dazed Cretans.

The only slight complication lay with the castle to the west. As the residence of Manite, the commander who led the Cretans southwards into Livonia, Manite wasn’t too fond of garrisoning his soldiers inside, but it was his home, after all, and maintaining the necessary guard force was a given. To capture this castle in one fell swoop required careful planning, yet time was running out.

Two squads of guards were in the midst of changing shifts, and the Door of the castle seemed most relaxed. No one expected anything to happen. The Livonians’ calm belied the impending peril, which the Cretans seemed utterly oblivious to.

Meloni took a deep breath, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow. A distance of one hundred and twenty meters was already challenging enough for him, with wind direction, crossbow quality, and in-the-moment performance all influencing the outcome of this shot. If he could advance another twenty meters, he’d be confident in taking down the opponent.

But it was these twenty meters that he couldn’t advance. Although the Cretans were careless, they remained vigilant around the castle. A few Bright and Dark Sentries appeared relaxed, but that didn’t mean they’d let their guard down. And in this battle, the various fronts unfolding simultaneously could afford no mistakes; a single slip-up on his part would put immense pressure on the other parties involved.

The sound of his companions drawing deep breaths resounded clearly in Meloni’s ears. None of them were certain about this shot, but they had no other choice. If they couldn’t completely annihilate the two squads of Knossos Soldiers preparing for the shift change, they would have to rely on the half-beasts’ rapid and wild charge to compensate.

The gates needed to be controlled within the shortest time possible. With control over the Door, half the mission would be complete. There weren’t many soldiers stationed inside the castle, but once they closed the Door, the losses incurred from trying to capture the castle could increase exponentially.

Dragumo too was feeling the tension. The three castles had to be fully under control; otherwise, the war would devolve into a siege, and the Knossos Army stationed in the Black Forest could soon counter-attack, tearing him to shreds. Only by holding these three castles could he buy time for reinforcements to arrive.

"Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!" The clear twang of bows unleashed a volley of silvery-yellow arrow glints into the air, forming a perfect line of death. The arrow shafts sailed gracefully through the cold air, their faint whistling sound echoing subtly. As the first row of arrows flew forth, the Half-elf Crossbowmen rose up smoothly, readying their bows for the next wave of attack, their coordinated actions coupled with a formidable aura, resembling a grandiose painting of war deities and warriors.

Screams rose up, one after another. The Knossos Soldiers, caught completely off-guard, hardly had time to react, and the persistent arrow storm wilted them before the castle Door like rain-battered flowers and leaves, leaving many strewn across the ground.

Like tigers breaking free from cages or dragons plunging into the sea, the half-beast men, who had been lying in wait in the forest two hundred meters away, burst out with roars, charging towards the castle Door at full speed. It was at this moment that the Knossos Soldiers inside and outside the castle realized they were under attack!

The ferocious Half-beast Soldiers took only ten to twenty seconds to cross the wide-open area in front of the castle that was supposed to prevent an enemy’s covert approach. Now it served as the most convenient passage for the half-beast warriors. The Sentries atop the castle, almost ceremonial in nature, went from being dumbfounded to frantically shouting to raise the Suspension Bridge and shut the Door.

But the unprepared Knossos Soldiers could not operate the heavy winch in time. Lifting the winch on the Suspension Bridge, which weighed thousands of pounds, would take several minutes even with the most efficient mechanism. Now, the half-beast soldiers were already storming onto the bridge planks!

The remaining Knossos Soldiers scrambled to shut the castle Door, but against the heavy blow of the half-beast men’s Wolf Tooth Clubs, their attempt was doomed. When the Door finally burst open, it signified that Livonia was now defenseless against Dragumo.

Manite’s alertness was remarkably high; he realized the severity of the situation as soon as the soldiers let out their first scream. It was only then that he realized what a strategic mistake it had been not to station troops inside the castle. The few ceremonial guards were utterly useless now. All he could do at this moment was hope that the soldiers at the door were quick enough to close the Door and pull up the Suspension Bridge. Only then might there still be the slightest chance of turning the situation around.

But by the time he led the Guard to rush to the castle Door, the retreating soldiers made his heart sink. The fierce and rugged appearance of the half-beast soldiers came into his sight, wave after wave of Javelins came sweeping in like a storm, even killing two of Manite’s own Guard in the barrage.

Manite knew all hope was lost. Once the half-beastmen breached the city, his meager force would be no match for them. He was filled with regret at this moment; had he stationed just three to five hundred men inside the castle, even an army of two to three thousand half-beast soldiers wouldn’t have been able to breach the castle’s defenses so quickly. But now, it was too late for regrets.

But he had no intention of surrendering without a fight, even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would struggle until the bitter end.

His Great Sword whipped up waves of blood; the half-beastmen’s formidable arm strength, coupled with their heavy weaponry, made Manite realize that this kind of close-quarters combat was exactly what the beastmen hoped for. Although his first two strikes tore through their somewhat clumsy defense, the enemy’s ferocious, fearless energy forced him to address the immediate threat to his own safety first.

Manite could only retreat step by step, and the Guard suffered heavy losses under the frenzied onslaught of the enemy. From the Door to the retreat inside the castle, a short distance of mere hundred meters, his thirty-strong Guard was reduced to less than ten. The fierce momentum of the enemy was so overwhelming that Manite felt utterly powerless.

"Sir Dragumo, the North and South Wings have been successfully captured. We are now clearing out Cretans who are scattered within the castle. The enemy’s forces have been driven into the inner castle and are still stubbornly resisting," reported a soldier.

Meloni was in high spirits. The confidence from the first arrow’s deadly shot empowered him, and the subsequent three arrows ended the lives of three Cretans directly. Inspired by his action, it seemed his comrades also exceeded their normal capabilities. Only a few of the dozens of Cretan Soldiers at the Door escaped an arrow to the heart, greatly reducing their chances of organizing enough strength to close the castle Door.

"Hmm, the enemies inside are nothing to fear now; they’ve lost hope of victory. All that’s left is for them to surrender with dignity. However, those scattered troops inside need to be cleaned up quickly; we need to gain the support and confidence of the Livonian folk. Only that way can we deal with possible crises we may face in the coming days," Dragumo said with an increasingly authoritative and confident tone, feeling he was now somewhat emulating Lord Komer with a clear, calm, and forceful manner of speaking.

"Sir, it’s just a pity about the three Castles. We might need to hurry to make some adjustments to the castle’s defense systems over the next few days. These Castles might be beautiful, but their defense systems are terribly incomplete, full of frivolous elements. We need to perfect some facilities immediately; they will be very useful for our defensive preparations later on," replied a subordinate.

Dragumo’s encouraging words greatly boosted Meloni’s confidence. As a half-elf, he had never dreamed of becoming a high-ranking officer in the Caucasus Army. Yet as Komer began promoting officers more aggressively, moving beyond the habit of appointing only Mortals to high ranks and including half-beasts and Barbarians, the half-elves, while far fewer in number, saw this as a signal that any race that performed exceptionally well had the potential to rise to a high rank.

For Meloni, this was a tremendous incentive. Half-elves were not afraid of sacrifice; as long as they could fight for their ideals, they were content. And Meloni was doing just that. He wanted to prove himself through war, and earning recognition through victory and subsequent promotion was the best way to do it.

"Hmm, we also need to ensure we have enough supplies prepared. I don’t know how long it will be after the Cretans have encircled us before our reinforcements arrive. We must make full preparations. This might be the toughest battle we’ve ever faced, and we all need to be prepared for it," Dragumo said, taking a deep breath, his tone becoming even more grave.

(To be continued. If you want to find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com for more Chapters. Support the author, support authorized reading!)