After eliminating the Sevar assault force, Donis and Otto Farustein immediately began preparations for the next phase—the attack on the fortress.
There was no time to lose, but after so many unexpected upheavals, the assault plan had to be reconsidered. Donis gathered his battalion commanders and convened a field conference. As the commanding officer of the special task force assigned to the operation, Otto also attended as well.
"What's the situation at regimental HQ?"
As soon as the battalion commanders arrived, they asked the question that everyone was concerned about..
"The artillery company's down to two heavy mortars. Damn it—who would've thought those bastards could pull something like that…"
The light infantry guns that deployed in the rear had been wiped out in one strike, and the mortars had been caught in it as well. The Holy State of Davole had begun to demonstrate firepower capable of matching their own artillery.
"The regimental bunker was half-destroyed by that cursed spell. The deputy regimental commander was killed. Communications are basically paralyzed. The troops left behind at HQ took heavy losses. The situation's grim."
Fortunately, Donis had anticipated that the assault might descend into command chaos and had chosen to direct the battle from the front lines. In recent engagements, the Sevar had begun prioritizing decapitation strikes against commanding officers—once leadership was lost, units quickly fell into confusion and lost combat effectiveness. That decision had spared him. Moreover, the units involved in this operation had been deployed in unusually tight formations, making it all the more critical for Donis to coordinate the battalions swiftly according to developments on the battlefield.
"The assault guns pulled out after being bombed on Hill Eight. We're on our own now."
Otto cut in after finishing a brief exchange with division command over a portable radio.
"That's enough. The outer defenses on the southern side of the fortress have been blasted to pieces. We can break through there."
The southern approach had been the primary axis of attack from the outset. Though its defensive system had been solid and well-constructed, it had not withstood repeated bombardments from three assault guns. Now, aside from collapsed walls and rubble strewn across the ground, there was unlikely to be much left capable of obstructing a breach.
"My men will coordinate with the vanguard and take point," Otto added after Donis finished. "If anything unexpected happens, we'll be better suited to handle it."
The fortifications had indeed been heavily damaged—but the garrison inside could not be ignored. The enemy's main force would almost certainly offer stiff resistance, and the defeated red robes from the earlier engagement had retreated into the fortress as well. Under such circumstances, having the more formidable Night Knights spearhead the assault would provide a significant advantage.
"Good. It's settled," Donis said decisively. "Maintain the current assault formation. The two reserve companies took lighter losses in the last engagement—select one to serve as the vanguard. The other will be assigned after we break into the fortress."
With the general outline decided, Donis made further adjustments based on the battalion commanders' reports—casualties, ammunition expenditure, and the specific objectives assigned to each battalion during the assault. Once the details were settled, the operation proceeded as planned.
...
Not until they emerged from the forest did the fortress—built upon the open ground—fully reveal itself to everyone's eyes.
In ancient times, the core provinces of what is now Dazilet were dotted with territories ruled by feudal lords. Their residences were castles that served both as living quarters and, more importantly, as military strongholds for regional defense. Over centuries of design and refinement by engineers, these castles gradually came to resemble one another. Their appearances and the placement of functional structures tended to follow similar patterns. Yet the foreign fortress before them differed somewhat from the castles familiar to the soldiers of Dazilet.
It was a highly integrated structure. The outer walls and the buildings inside were practically fused together, leaving little in the way of courtyards or open spaces. Towers taller than the walls themselves were packed tightly within, stacked together like interlocking mineral formations—distinct layers fitted into one another. Despite their unknown functions, these structures were arranged with striking regularity, their tiers orderly and clearly defined.
Viewed from above, the entire fortress formed an almost perfectly circular shape enclosed by its walls. The walls themselves sloped upward at a sharp angle, preventing enemies from climbing while also minimizing blind spots at the base. From atop the walls, defenders could easily observe the enemy below—what they were doing, how many there were. Arrows, falling stones, and even the Sevar's red-line attacks could all strike effectively at enemies gathered beneath the wall.
Inside the outer wall stood another ring wall built slightly higher than the inner ground level, only a little taller than a man. It was lined with battlements where guards could be stationed, forming yet another layer in the defensive system. In addition, towers were spaced at intervals along the walls. These towers served as armories or barracks for soldiers, while also providing a wider field of view. They were usually where the Sevar were stationed to oversee the defense.
From an engineering standpoint, it was almost unbelievable that the Holy State of Davole could construct so many fortresses of this scale behind the front lines in such a short time after the war began. Intelligence officers from the Fourth Army of Dazilet were convinced that magic must have played a role. At times, reconnaissance aircraft would fly over an area one week and find nothing there—only to return the next week and see a fortress already half completed. By the third week, the fortress would be entirely finished, and throughout the process no large groups of construction workers had ever been observed. Even for Dazilet, building such a structure would take at least two or three months—and that did not even account for the time required to complete the interior.
Returning to the fortress itself: the southern wall had long since collapsed under the bombardment of the "Heavy Hammer." Even the inner area that should have been protected by the wall had suffered damage. Rubble made of bricks and concrete had piled up beneath the massive breach, forming a natural ramp. That opening was the ideal point of attack—infantry could charge straight into the fortress through it.
"There are still guards on the wall. Quite a few, I'd guess."
Edwin held a pair of binoculars in his right hand, carefully observing the situation along the wall and throughout the fortress.
As far as the walls were concerned, after more than a month of fighting Dazilet, the soldiers of Davole had learned their lesson. They had come to understand that the enemy possessed extremely powerful direct-fire weapons. So the guards stayed behind the battlements or simply lay flat on the ground instead of standing boldly in the open as they had at the beginning of the war. Through Edwin's binoculars, he could see flashes of silver glinting above the cover—sunlight reflecting off armor.
"Those soldiers aren't the real threat. The key is that group of red robes…"
Beside him, Otto was also studying the enemy deployment through binoculars. He was considering the possible situations they might encounter in the coming battle—and how to deal with them. The Fourth Platoon's Night Knights and the infantry were currently positioned about five hundred meters from the breach in the wall, taking cover within a crude defensive line formed mainly by shell craters.
Earlier, to prevent the assaulting forces from having to march and deploy across a wide open field, Donis had coordinated with the divisional artillery battalion to bombard the area where the attacking troops were now positioned. The heavy-caliber shells had created a scattering of craters that could serve as cover. The trenches linking those craters—barely a meter deep and just wide enough for two men to pass—had taken the engineers nearly three days to complete under the cover of friendly artillery and darkness.
"That's about it. Prepare to move!"
Unlike the thunderous barrages that usually preceded a frontal assault, there was not even the sound of gunfire yet. The Night Knights of the Fourth Platoon dashed forward with the speed of arrows loosed from a bow, racing to the base of the wall and waiting there for the infantry of the vanguard.
"Keep an eye on above."
Otto looked up at the tower that jutted outward beyond the wall and specifically told Nordhausen to take a few men and watch it. From the outside it appeared unoccupied, but a defensive structure that intact could not possibly be left unguarded.
"Loose arrows!"
From afar, the Night Knights beneath the wall heard a loud command echo from above. In the next moment, hundreds of arrows shot out from the wall at once. They spread across the sky like a thin curtain, briefly dimming the sunlight before slicing through the air toward the advancing infantry.
Almost at the same instant, the troops remaining in position to provide covering fire opened their attack as well.
The battle erupted in a single heartbeat.
"Watch the archers on the wall."
Though they were not a particularly serious threat, Otto still gave the reminder.
Thanks to the fortress wall's design, the defenders could easily observe the Night Knights' position. While firing at the infantry still charging forward, they also began sending a few arrows toward them.
"If I get hit by something like that, I might as well quit right now," Edwin said.
No sooner had he finished speaking than an arrow whistled straight toward him. The archer was confident from experience that the shot would land true—but to his astonishment, the target caught the arrow with his bare hand.
Edwin himself showed little reaction. He looked up at the archer who had fired it—the man immediately ducked behind the battlements once he noticed Edwin's gaze, clearly afraid of retaliation. Edwin then relaxed his grip slightly and brought the arrow closer, examining it with interest.
"Pretty well made."
Compared to the old arrows Edwin remembered seeing in an elderly hunter's home, this one—looking freshly crafted and unused—could indeed be called beautiful.
"Loose arrows!"
Another command rang out from a Holy State officer on the wall, and yet another volley of arrows shot skyward.
Unlike the soldiers of the Holy State, Dazilet's infantry did not wear armor into battle, nor did they normally carry shields. Faced with a rain of arrows like this, they had little choice but to endure it. While still far less dangerous than charging through machine-gun fire or artillery bombardment, casualties were inevitable. Friendly troops remaining in the rear positions could suppress the defenders enough to keep them from exposing themselves, but archers could still launch indirect shots from beyond the reach of rifles—exactly as they were doing now.
"We can't wait any longer. Let's move up!"
An arrow could wound almost as effectively as a bullet, easily leaving a soldier unable to fight. The troops had already taken losses in the earlier battle—allowing them to be worn down by archers now was unacceptable.
"Move!"
The plan had long been prepared; all that remained was the order. The Night Knights scattered along the base of the wall immediately advanced toward the breach on the right side, moving so quickly that the defenders above could only glimpse fleeting shadows racing below.
"Attention! The enemy is climbing the wall!!"
The defenders quickly spotted the Night Knights near the breach. Squad after squad of shield-bearing armored soldiers, already prepared in advance, rushed from inside the fortress to the broken section of the wall and formed defensive lines.
When the wall had collapsed, it left behind a V-shaped gap. The Night Knights split into two groups, using the uneven slopes on either side of the breach to climb upward along the fractured wall.
"Hold the line!"
At the officer's command, the defensive formation shifted instantly. The front rank of shield soldiers planted their shields firmly on the ground, while the row behind raised theirs overhead, angling them against the first row's shields. Together they formed a solid wall of metal.
Against ordinary troops fighting with cold weapons, such a shield formation would have been extremely effective at stopping attackers climbing onto the wall.
But their opponents were Night Knights of Dazilet.
What reached them first were the grenades thrown by the Night Knights. These soldiers had little frontline experience and did not recognize the smoking cylindrical objects that landed at their feet. Their commander, however, reacted immediately and shouted for them to fall back.
Boom—
A chain of explosions erupted across the top of the wall, clouds of dust and smoke rising to obscure nearly everything.
Human reflexes had their limits. Even though the shield soldiers began moving the moment the order was given, the grenades detonated among them anyway, bursting into brief, blinding fireballs. Before the surviving soldiers could recover, a sweeping barrage from submachine guns tore through the chaos.
"Archers! Prepare for combat!!"
The commander's next order came quickly. The heavily armored infantry who had been meant to hold the front line collapsed almost instantly, leaving him no choice but to rally the nearby archers and attempt to hold the line until reinforcements of armored infantry could arrive.
These archers, though not trained for disciplined formation fighting like the armored troops and lacking the same level of armor protection, were still elite soldiers capable of drawing heavy war bows. Their close-combat ability was far from weak.
But against Night Knights armed with firearms, it made little difference.
"Fire."
Nordhausen gave the order calmly. The Night Knights beside him, their expressions as cold and impassive as ever, pulled the triggers of their submachine guns.
Another storm of bullets burst from the drifting smoke. The archers who had drawn their sabers and were preparing to charge fell one after another before they could even take a step forward.
"Retreat! Fall back to the third section!!"
Against Night Knights wielding firearms, these soldiers armed only with cold weapons had no chance of resistance. Stumbling behind cover, the commander of the wall garrison issued the order to withdraw. A bullet had struck his calf, and he could only limp away toward the rear tower with the help of his men.
In doing so, the Night Knights had accomplished their goal—disrupting the enemy's ranged fire and covering the advance of their allied infantry.
Yet something still felt wrong.
As the dust slowly settled, Nordhausen and his men stepped out of the haze. To the fortress defenders, they looked less like soldiers and more like predators—monsters searching for prey, still unsated from the bloodshed moments before.
He glanced toward the cluster of fortress buildings on the right, then turned his gaze to the tall tower standing between the broken sections of the wall.
The red robes still hadn't moved. Were they waiting until the infantry rushed closer to the fortress before striking?
Otto was thinking the same thing.
He stopped Edwin, who had been about to pursue the retreating archers and armored troops, and instead began scanning their surroundings, searching for possible movement routes.
Without the harassment of arrow fire, the infantry could advance quickly and without hesitation. Before long, they reached the breach beneath the wall and gathered there, waiting for further orders from their commanders.
"What's the situation up there, sir?"
The infantry company commander shouted at the top of his lungs. The respect in his tone toward the Night Knights was unmistakable.
"No clear threats. You can begin the assault!"
Otto leaned halfway over the battlements and shouted down in reply.
If the red robes intended to counterattack, this was the perfect moment. The vanguard company had gathered beneath the wall, and many of the still-charging infantry had already entered the red robes' attack range. If they unleashed that explosive attack now, the casualties would be severe.
The Night Knights watched every corner of the fortress carefully, ready to counter the moment the red robes made their move.
Sure enough, the red lines appeared.
From the towers on either side of the wall, dozens of crimson lines traced terrifying arcs of death, stretching downward from the tops of the towers and falling precisely into the mass of soldiers below.
"Target the towers—prepare to attack!"