Second World

Linda ordered the siege weapon operators to aim below the openings where the defenders were. The stones from the catapults and trebuchets broke the mountain wall. The defenders lost their footing when the ground below them crumbled. Both the soldiers and the mana cannons fell and tumbled down the mountain under rains of stones.

Boron's force also charged after the mountain lost its protection. Balgadur had several entry points. Boron was in charge of entering from one of the side entrances.

After dispelling the protective rune diagrams, Master took out one of his guild's siege weapons, the dragon-head battering ram. This ram immediately took action as it bashed its metallic dragon head upon the main gate. The soldiers who followed him rushed forward and attacked the gate to increase the pace. The armored ballista was left behind, it had served its purpose.

Without the protection from the rune diagrams, it didn't take long for the main gate to shatter.

Master had been casting multiple summoning spells when the ram did its job. When the main gate fell, his army of minions rushed forward. They became the vanguard force for the rest of his army which was also flooding toward the open gate.

Jack and Tip had joined John and his army two days ago. Jack constantly used his Runestone of Marching to increase his army's pace. But even with the increased movement speed, it should still take them around three to four days to arrive at Balgadur.

He and John were now receiving messages from Jeanny about the situation in Balgadur.

Jeanny was currently inside that capital. Her force stopped harassing the Liguritudum army after the army came close to the capital. Her tactic was only working because the enemy had to keep moving. If the enemy stopped and focused their attention on her, her force would be the one in trouble.

Hence, she and the others teleported into Balgadur and aided the capital's defense before the capital went into a lockdown for the incoming siege.

"What? The gates have fallen and the enemies are now breaching inside the capital?" Jack said after reading the message. "F*ck! Is this going to be like the last time with Hydrurond? The capital fell before we were even halfway there?"

"That last time, the capital fell when we had just arrived, not halfway," John corrected.

"Is that important?" Jack asked in annoyance.

"So, how is the current situation?" Jack sent a message to Jeanny.

"Although the enemies have breached the gates, we are still defending. Palgrost's settlements are unique since they were built inside mountains or underground. They are not open space. They have many connecting pathways, which means if properly utilized, we can use them as chokepoints. We are now defending these chokepoints, slowing the enemy's advance."

"Oh, very good. This means not all are lost yet. It's a good thing you people come up with this choke points tactic."

"Actually, it's John's. He requested that we send him a complete map of Balgadur. He marked a few spots and told us to prepare defenses at those places in case the gates were breached."

"You've expected Balgadur to be breached?" Jack asked John.

"No, but it can't hurt to have a backup plan, can it?" John replied. "And it's proven we do need it."

"Anyway, can you hold out for a few more days?" Jack resumed his message with Jeanny.

"I don't know… No, we can! We will! We will hold them out! Palgrost hasn't lost that many soldiers. At these choke points, the enemy's large number is useless. We will hold them until you arrive!"

"That's the spirit! Three days. Give us three days. We will arrive by then!" Jack announced.

After ending the message, John said, "You know, there is no need for them to hold out for three days. One day will be enough."

"Huh?" Jack didn't catch John's meaning.

"Liguritudum's country guardian can only stay for one day. After that, she has to leave even if she can still fight," John said. "Palgrost's guardian doesn't have that handicap. Once the lame bird leaves, Palgrost's country guardian can aid the defenders in dealing with the enemy's army."

"You are right!" Jack remembered that rule now. "If only one day, I'm sure they can hold out!"

"Let's hope you are right…," Peniel said.

"Why do you sound so pessimistic?" Jack asked.

"The Liguritudum's country guardian is Suzaki. Palgrost's is Uddroth. He is a level 90 eternal-grade dragon."

"He is five levels lower…," John muttered.

"That's not the problem," Peniel said. "Uddroth's affinity is the fire element. Suzaki has another title aside from being called the Immortal One. Her other title was the Empress of Fire."

"I guess this means Uddroth can't defeat Suzaki considering most of his attacks will be fire-based due to his affinity," John said. "But he doesn't need to defeat her. All he needs to do is survive for one day."

"That's the thing," Peniel said. "Suzaki is called the Empress of Fire not only because most fire attacks can't hurt her. It is also because she can get stronger the more fire attacks she receives."

Jack and John were silent after hearing that.

"Let's increase the pace!" Jack announced. "We will reduce our sleep quota by another hour starting tonight. We have to get to Balgadur as soon as possible!"

Above Balgadur, Uddroth was tussling with Suzaki. In terms of direct combat, Uddroth's superior physical strength had the advantage. But Suzaki was not completely powerless. Aside from her claws and beak, she also attacked using the fireball beside her. The one that was formed using Uddroth's flame.

As the fight continued, Uddroth was finally aware of the situation below. He saw the enemy armies pouring into the mountain. He was extremely shocked seeing the scene. How could the mountain's defenses crumble so soon? It was as if the protective rune diagrams had stopped functioning, or maybe that was what had happened.

He realized then that Suzaki had purposefully drawn him higher into the sky.

He unleashed a flame blast with strong knockback force. He then dove down to the armies below, but before he was halfway, something crashed into him and forced him tumbling to the side.

He looked and saw that it was the fireball that had constantly followed Suzaki. He noticed then that the fireball was larger than when it was first formed.