Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Keep calm, Saulus. Just let everything unfold…To say that the young general was excited would be a gross understatement. As much as Saulus never considered war as anything else aside from the ultimate form of diplomacy, there was no denying that the years he spent on the battlefield left a certain type of mental scar on him.

Just keep steady, let him believe in himself…Glancing towards the city hidden behind the walls rising for several meters into the sky, Saulus’ mind was preoccupied with trying to spot any clue about Rena’s intentions. While his plan was devised solely to irk the most volatile features of that lord’s character, it wasn’t guaranteed.

“Sir, the gate!”

The role of the herald in this unit wasn’t limited to passing down orders with his trumpet to the rest of the unit. Thanks to the relatively safe position in the fourth row of the entire unit, he was tasked with observation as well. Outside of relaying the orders, he was tasked with notifying Saulus of anything extraordinary that Saulus himself would miss.

Following the words of his subordinate that barely managed to reach his ears through the commotion, Saulus directed his sight towards the next entryway to the city.

Soldiers.

More soldiers that Saulus could see back at the gate where the main axis of attack would happen. It seemed that although slowly, Rena was decisively swallowing the bait that Saulus continued to dangle right in front of his face.

“Pace! Down!”

There was absolutely no point in wasting time around this area, given how many soldiers appeared to protect it. While it was only a glance, Saulus could even see some of them bearing crossbows, the one weapon that could inflict serious injury at the distance the general’s cavalry was riding away from the town’s walls.

And that was exactly why Saulus decided to stop his unit. After all, losses would eventually start ramping up. Giving up on the crucial aspect of the entire siege scheme just because it would cost some blood was a mistake a rookie general would make. A mistake that Rena would commit given his natural traits. But not a mistake someone like Saulus would ever consider to be a viable option.

“Set down!”

Once the entire group managed to come to a full stop, the few heavy raiders with their thick armour and long, heart-shaped shields moved to the flank, shielding the rest of the group from any potential fire. Even with its reach being way above that of a bow’s arrow, there were some strict limits to what a crossbow’s bolt could penetrate while operating at its maximum range. And those limits were way below the quality of the armors that those few heavy-cavalrymen wore.

“Footmen, fortify! Horsemen, after me!”

Using the short moment when the atmosphere was relatively silent, Saulus rose up on his stirrups, shouting the order himself.

Let’s see if he’s smarter than everyone or just a cowardly piece of shit. Right now, Rena only had two choices. Either focus on the silly fortifications that Saulus auxiliary troops were setting up, or chase after the general himself in hopes of eradicating the crux and core of the entire invading army. Given how hard it was to even imagine Rena with his shirt torn on his chest, his long, oily hair fluttering in the wind, as he would raise his sword and throw down a devastating spell at his enemies…

Yuck… Just thinking about it is making me sick…Shaking his head to get rid of those nauseating thoughts, Saulus quickly scanned the area.

“Horsemen, move out!”

Giving the enemy yet another chance to locate and recognize him, Saulus once again rose up on the saddle of his horse before pulling the rest of his force forward.

The next one should be….By this point, Saulus’ strategy was already pretty obvious. Instead of spreading his forces thin and attempting to encircle the entire city, he went with blocking just the main gates of the town. As long as his footmen could hold those silly fortifications, the city would be as isolated as it would be with an entire army surrounding it. After all, the amount of supplies that people could smuggle through the gaps in Saulus’ forces wouldn’t change anything at all. Not for a city of this scale.

Saulus’ force quickly regained its usual speed. With only the bravest of the garrison soldiers daring to fire their crossbow, those few bolts simply disappeared into the crowd of Saulus’ unit. So far, the losses were surprisingly thin.

But that threat couldn’t absorb Saulus attention, as after just a few moments of riding, the potentially last point of the journey appeared in front of his eyes.

Come on… What are you waiting for…Despite the walls hiding most of the city from his sight, Saulus’ eyes were glued to a single spot. Right beside the southern gate, a huge castle complex was integrated into the city defense system, overlooking both the gate and the river located a short walk away from it. And right on top of its highest tower, a huge bell was mounted.

“Pace! Up!”

Giving out the standard order, Saulus once again pulled his soldiers into a frantic gallop, rushing towards the gate. But as anyone could expect, it was closed by the local guards way before Saulus’ cavalry managed to even appear in the view of its guards.

“Pace…”

Just as the young general was about to give out the standard order to enclose the near gate, a sudden shrill sound rang through the air. Starting very low, the tone of the fortress bell quickly turned high to the point where Saulus felt like tearing his ears off.

Damned magic…As much as the young general hated being subjected to this mysterious and unrelenting force, the appearance of the greatest weapon of the enemy could only mean one thing.

Rena finally decided to make a move!

And from how the soldiers on the wall near Saulus’ mobile detachment didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all, it seemed that Saulus’ bet had finally paid off!

“Legionaries!”

Instead of giving out the standard order, Saulus rose as high up in his stirrups as he could before shouting as loudly as his lungs allowed. With his hand already brandishing the sword that several adjutants spent the entire night polishing, he made a small circle with the tip of his blade before putting it sharply right along the line of his eyes.

“Turn!”

If the bell rang and the local soldiers didn’t move more than usual, then the reason for that could be just one. The main theater where the situation would play out was somewhere else.

And Saulus knew pretty well where it would happen.