Torose fortress.

A pot of oil fell into the middle of a group of archers and caused them to scream out in pain.

One enemy soldier started climbing up the ladder and got hit by an arrow once he reached the middle, falling back to the ground.

It went without saying that our allies didn’t come out unharmed either.

The enemy catapult launched an iron ball that demolished the ballista, sending the operator and wooden shrapnel flying.

Pots of oil flung by the enemy shattered when they get hit by flaming arrows, engulfing any poor soldier who got caught with fire and sending them from the walls to the city, rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to smother the flames.

Ally archers preoccupied with shooting fail to notice some enemies had climbed up the ladder and got dragged down the walls after getting spears plunged into their bodies.

"So this is what defending a siege looks like. Pretty interesting."

I kicked down an enemy soldier who reached the top of the ladder and then rocked the ladder so the others behind him also fell off.

"Be careful of arrows! They’re aiming from everywhere!"

Mirai avoided an arrow before throwing a dagger down below.

I heard someone groan afterwards so she must have hit her mark.

The enemy was really trying hard and their morale was high.

"Get over at all costs, it’s our victory once we get into the city!"

"Then shall I let you in?"

I grabbed one of the ladders propped up against the wall and pulled it up.

When I did, the soldier and his commander instantly got pulled up onto the wall.

"Eh!" 

"Wha-?"

Next I grabbed the two dumbfounded soldiers by the neck and tossed them into the city, who crashed with a splat.

"Hehe, I didn’t lose."

The mayor stared angrily back from below when he saw the bodies.

Got it, I wouldn’t do it next time.

I thought it would be frustrating staying on defense the whole time, but that wasn’t the case.

It aroused me in a different way than cavalry battles did.

"The battering rams are getting close!"

"Don’t let them get any closer! They’ll crack open the gate!"

In the midst of the frantic mess, the battering rams finally approached the west gates.

It was a slow and steady advance.

That box-shaped siege weapon on wheels swung a heavy metal stake repeatedly against the gates in an attempt to destroy it.

Unlike catapult, no concern required for the level of damage to the weapon once it locked onto a target and attack could be made continuously and that could be, to the defensive side, the greatest threat.

Most buildings had sturdy roofs so arrows and rocks had little effect.

"Concentrate your fire power. Aim the ballista!"

"Let the oil flow, set them aflame!"

One of the allied commanders yelled. It’s hard for him to raise his head with the enemy also trying to protect their battering ram.

"They’re closing in!"

Gheyna stopped her now shooting and shouted.

"No, we still have some room."

Sandbags were still piled in front of the gates.

The dirt packed in the tattered rags got blown away by the previous bombardment.

No matter how powerful the rams might be, they couldn’t blow up the dirt and the door together, not to mention the sand in front of the gates were clogging up the wheel, preventing the weapons from getting close enough.

"Soldiers will come forward to clear the sand so focus on aiming at them. Those who aren’t archers should find something to throw at them."

We'd already run out of pots of oil so the soldiers picked up rocks laying on the ground and wooden debris left by the destroyed ballista.

Hmm, that quickly got used up too.

"Hey you, go down to the city and bring something we can throw. It can be a bottle of water or furniture or anything."

I called out to a few young soldiers and gave out orders.

"Understood sirー!"

A young soldier descended the city walls.

......just to return right away.

"The mayor doesn’t approve of the citizens’ furniture being used――"

"Rocks or garbage or anything else is fine too! Just bring it quickly!"

The young soldier went down again in tears.

I didn’t mean to yell at him, it just came out.

While we’re going back and forth, the enemy sent out soldiers in front of the rams to moved the sand.

Guards began throwing a flurry of arrows and rocks, defeating as many soldiers as they could, although the other side didn’t give up.

"Throw everything you have. Rip off the bricks too!"

"The second ballista is unusable now! They’re too close! Throw the arrows directly at them!"

"The roof above the ram is tough. Aim for the soldiers in front―― ugyaー!!"

Allies who leaned over to drop objects also suffered great casualties.

Enemy arrows were still pouring down like rain.

It didn’t take long for the countless enemy soldiers to climb up the ladders and onto the walls when we were busy dealing with the battering rams.

"It’s getting rowdy here."

I picked up a brick at my feet and hurl it at a soldier who reached the top.

The rectangular block blew off the first soldier’s head and proceed to sink deep into the face of the man following behind, finishing both.

"The battering rams are moving!"

I guessed they succeeded in removing the sand.

Once again, the siege weapons inched closer to the gates.

"Something heavy...... that will do."

I picked up a corpse still wearing armor, but before I could do anything the ram tilts forward accompanied by a low rumbling as the weapon sank.

"A pitfall!"

"That Myla, how clever."

A hole dug in front of the sandbags?

This trap might have been a suggestion b Myla, our defence specialist .

"Destroy it now"

The enemy had more than one.

However, getting rid of this one would crowd the area in front of the gate and made their attack more difficult.

"Move it."

The stone bulwark protecting the guards on top of the city walls...... I swung my sword against that bulwark.

"What is Mister Hiro.....?"

"Is he trying to destroy the wall?"

The wall was brokeen after several full-powered swings of my sword.

Now I had a clump of rock that weighed several hundred kilograms.

"Hold my sword."

"Got i―― waah! I-it’s squishing me!"

I had to finish this quickly for Mirai’s sake too.

I slowly picked up the large collection of stones.

"Eh? You’re kidding...... He’s going to lift that heavy piece of rubble?"

"Auuuu...... you guys, protect Hiro-sama from arrows! Become his shields! Uuu, so heavy!"

Mirai shouted to the others while struggling under my sword.

As she commanded, soldiers stood beside me and held up their shields.

I walked towards the ram with the chunk of stone in my arms.

Fierce attacks were ongoing on the walls though so going there with my arms tied was suicidal.

I would have to throw it from where I am.

"Eh? There’s still one meter between you......"

"Throwing it from there isn’t possible――"

Uuoooooooh!!"

I let out a growl more beastly than I expected, lowered my hips and unleashed my load with all my might.

The large stone block raised up in the air a tiny bit before slowly falling diagonally.

"Good, right on target."

My aim was accurate and the piece of debris casted a shadow perfectly over the ram.

Allies watched on in silent amazement while the enemy similarly gazed up blankly as the mass of stone landed onto the siege weapon.

My projectile could not be compared to the arrows and rocks the roof above the ram was meant to protect so the weight of hundreds of kilograms caved in the flimsy layer like it was paper.

The stake was broken under the impact and the entire siege weapon collapsed in on itself.

"Now, it’s just a huge obstacle. Now, it’s harder to attack the west gate."

Clearing up the scraps being held down by rock would take effort and time.

Even more so if they had to worry about arrows showering them from above.

"What kind of person...... no, he’s a monster!"