Chapter 102: Closing In

The situation upon the earth shifted unpredictably. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed since the battle beneath Cecil City, and both sides had reached their limits; victory and defeat were on the verge of being decided.

This war was being watched with great attention not only by the entire Northern Domain but also by several great nations in other regions of the south.

For this battle concerned not merely the Northern Domain, but the very state of the entire world.

In this world, the lands where human footsteps had reached could be broadly divided into five regions. Of these, the central region, where the Royal Court held sway, and the Southern Domain, with the oldest heritage, were the strongest.

In the central region, the Royal Court dominated, nearly crushing all other duchies beneath its heel. Yet, because of its perennial entanglement with the Southern Domain and the most powerful duchies of the central region, it could not extricate itself for the time being, nor turn its attention to interfering in other regions.

As for the Eastern and Western Domains, although duchies had risen there, they were still in their most primitive stage—city-states locked in chaotic warfare, still a long way from unification.

Only in the Northern Domain, despite having the smallest population and the weakest strength, had the struggle for hegemony already reached its final stage.

The battle at Cecil City had already expended most of the strength of both duchies. Whichever side emerged victorious would have no rival left in the Northern Domain and would inevitably unite it under its banner. And once that happened, while the other regions had yet to complete their own unification, throwing the full might of an entire domain against scattered city-states would be nothing short of a disaster.

Therefore, not only the Royal Court but also every duchy in the other regions with ambitions of hegemony watched this war closely, constantly probing for news of its progress.

For them, the best outcome would be for both sides to cripple each other—ideally, for the national power of these two great states to be drained entirely on this field, buying them time.

In such circumstances, when the outside world believed Cecil City was on the verge of collapse, one duchy after another could no longer restrain itself and began to stir.

...

In the central district of the city, within a spacious building, Kokus entered.

"Your Majesty, just now another noble from the city came out, offering us some supplies and arrows for the defense!"

He said this, then stepped forward, presenting a dispatch filled with detailed records.

"We've certainly been busy these days!" Adis took the dispatch, glanced at the figures recorded upon it, and could not help but sneer.

"Let me see—there are passing merchant caravans, free folk of the territory, and all these nobles."

He looked at the list of names on the dispatch, his expression unchanged. "The passing merchants and the free folk, I can understand. But these nobles—since when have they been so supportive of us?"

Hearing this, Kokus gave a wry smile as well. "Your Majesty, I have already had the names of these people recorded, so that we may keep a close watch on them later."

"I am afraid that will be of little use." Adis shook his head. "Since these people have already stuck their heads out, it means they have been abandoned by those behind them. To keep a close watch on them now would be pointless."

"What matters most now is still this battle."

He looked at Kokus and said quietly, "How many people do we have left?"

"Around ten thousand, and of those, nearly half still retain full fighting capability."

"However, because of the prolonged use of divine arts, Lord Biel has said that the priests can no longer sustain it."

Kokus spoke with some hesitation.

Hearing this, Adis nodded, understanding in his heart.

For the priests, unleashing divine arts consumed divine power as the primary cost, but it still required their manipulation. If the burden grew too heavy, they would tire, and the divine power their bodies could withstand would diminish more and more, until finally they were forced to rest and recuperate.

And this campaign had already lasted several months by now. Unleashing divine arts for such a long time had gradually pushed the priests' bodies past their limits, to the breaking point.

"Still, although this situation is considerably better than it might have been, one could say we have reached our limit."

"If no other factors intervene, then at this point, the best outcome would be mutual destruction—draining our national strength alongside the Duchy of Indelli in this campaign, giving other powers a free advantage."

Such were his thoughts as he looked toward a distant direction.

There, a light of faith was flickering, coalescing into an unyielding divine domain, faintly carrying an air of killing intent, swiftly drawing nearer to this place.

Three days later.

Beneath the walls of Cecil City, the siege continued, but compared to a few days prior, the tide of battle had begun to shift.

"After nearly four months of fighting, it seems this Cecil City is finally about to break." Barritt gazed at the city that was still putting up stubborn resistance, a shadow of solemnity in his eyes.

For him, this campaign had been unimaginably arduous.

Fifty thousand men laying siege, with an endless stream of reinforcements and war slaves supporting from the rear—attacking a city defended by twenty thousand, and still failing to take it after four months, astonished him. He was sickened by the enemy's tenacity.

One could say that had it not been for his personal command of this campaign—had it been anyone else—there was absolutely no way they could have escaped the fate of taking their own life in atonement.

At this thought, he could not help but sigh, and a surge of violent rage rose in his heart.

For, by now, this war had already committed more than half the strength of the entire Duchy of Indelli. Countless had been killed and wounded in the process, turning the ground beneath the walls into a field of blood and slaughter. If victory were not achieved, most of the nation's power would be spent here, leaving the Duchy of Indelli gravely wounded, perhaps unable to recover for years.

Every time he thought of this, an uncontrollable bloodlust seethed in Barritt's heart, impossible to suppress.

At this moment, a handsome knight stepped forward from below. "Your Majesty, look."

"In the last few days, the resistance along the walls has grown ever weaker. And today, they have even sent out the common folk of the city to the ramparts!"

He sounded excited, and also relieved. "These signs all show that Cecil City can hold out no longer. At most, in a few more days, it will fall to us!"

Seeing the knight like this, Barritt gave a rare smile.

"Aruk, do not rejoice too soon."

There was a hint of affection in his eyes. "After such a long and bitter war, the enemy's tenacity is beyond imagination. At this final juncture, we absolutely cannot afford to slacken."

Aruk nodded. "Your Majesty, I understand!"

Seeing this, Barritt nodded, then turned his gaze toward the city walls ahead.

Upon the walls, streams of blood were flowing. The warriors of both sides were still locked in slaughter, but compared to several months ago, the resistance now appeared faint and feeble. It looked as though the city would be breached in just a few more days.

Yet, seeing such a sight, for some reason, Barritt suddenly felt a twinge of unease.

He shook his head, carefully considered the surrounding situation, and found no flaws. And so he paid it no further mind.

"A false impression?" he thought to himself, and then gave the order:

"Send word: in three days, we launch the general assault. This time, we will take Cecil City for certain!"