Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The Tanilians, who couldn't see clearly what Moritz was doing, only knew that anyone he pointed to would drop dead on the spot.

Only the devil could possess such power. The soldiers of the Federation, realizing this, screamed in terror, "The devil! A demon!" and fled desperately deeper into the slums.

Only then did the other junior officers besides Winters understand why some would say this seemingly frail, disheveled man was the strongest magical combat force in the army.

With his mastery of the Arrow Flying Spell alone, even bundling all the others together would not be enough to contend with Moritz.

"Shall we pursue?" someone asked the major.

"Do not pursue!" Moritz said decisively: "Go and join up with the forward units!"

Following Lieutenant Juan, Moritz and the others made their way to the city gates, where the disguised spellcasters, posing as ordinary soldiers, killed any enemy attempting to approach Don Juan on the spot.

During this period, they saw no other signal flares. Lieutenant Juan's hundred-man team, in coordination with the forces attacking from the Triangle Fort, overpowered the city gate's defenders and quickly seized control of Tachi's gates.

The process was so smooth it seemed unbelievable, so much so that the spellcaster officers felt a sense of unease.

But the nature of a magician's battle is deceptive; bodies don't talk. It's possible that Moritz and his men hadn't killed a single enemy spellcaster, or that they had wiped out all the enemy spellcasters.

The enemy was dead, and there was no way to verify what had happened. The spellcasters could only suppress their anxiety and continue to stand firmly by Don Juan's side.

The day had started to break, the sun climbing higher, and the morning mist was gradually dispersed by the sunlight.

After more than two hours of fierce fighting, Tachi suddenly became quiet. All Winters could hear were sporadic sounds of gunfire and the groans of the dying in the distance.

The spellcasters and the common soldiers of Juan's hundred-man team collapsed on the ground as if they were dead. It was because they acted as the arrowhead and blade that the hundred-man team was able to quickly capture the heavily guarded city gate.

The Golden Lion Flag flew proudly over the city gate, but the exhausted Venetians no longer had the strength to continue the offensive.

When the fog completely dissipated, the sight that met everyone's eyes brought even the most resolute Venetian a hint of despair.

Winters heard the sentry crying. He didn't understand what had happened until he also stood upon the battlements and looked out.

Not far away, a dyke made of earth enveloped Tachi's "Earl's High Tower," and the flag of the Tanilia Federation still flew above the castle.

William Kidd had constructed another wall inside the city walls. The Tanilians had not given up resistance; the battle was far from over.

...

...

For this general offensive, the Venetians had deployed nine battalions—nine fully manned battalions.
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Two legions combined had only twenty battalions to begin with, not to mention many had already taken heavy casualties in the siege.

The Venetian military leadership wanted a decisive victory, yet the Tanilians' tenacity was infuriating.

Such was the helplessness of the era: tactically, offense overshadowed defense, but strategically, defense overwhelmed offense.

Even the most battle-hardened troops could only turn warfare into an endless exchange of numbers when faced with fortified structures and a stubborn defense.

Thirty years ago, the Senas coalition had used dozens of fortified towns to grind down the Duke of Arlion, forcing the Emperor to negotiate peace. Now, the same tactic was being used against them, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of all Venetian officers.

"Fight! Keep fighting!" Layton slammed his fist on the table at the military command meeting: "We lose men, don't the Tans lose men too? [Fiercely offensive language]! Keep fighting! It's a matter of who can hold out to the last breath!"

Layton's rage was nearly palpable, but the attending senior officers had no reaction; the battalion commanders avoided Layton's gaze and bowed their heads in silence.

The nine battalions responsible for the day's general offense were already exhausted. Many had suffered casualties of over thirty percent, and the fact that the troops' morale hadn't yet collapsed was a miracle in itself.

Under normal circumstances, commanders like these would have been praised for their method of governing the army. However, the reason why these brigade commanders are not speaking now is not because they are stingy with soldiers' lives, but because they clearly understand that their troops have reached their limits. To continue forcibly driving soldiers to attack the city would likely lead to mutiny on the spot.

The brigade commanders who did not participate in today's offensive also remained silent, and no one knew what they were thinking... Perhaps the ferocity of today's battle also left them with a trace of fear.

"General Layton is right," said Serviati, the commander of the legion, with a grim face, "Victory in battle depends on which side can persevere for one more minute. No matter how much blood we shed, William Kidd's men will shed even more. We cannot give the people of Tanilia a chance to catch their breath, and I don't need to go on about this. At this point in the fight, it's about who has a harder, more ruthless heart. Even if we all go to hell, it doesn't matter, as long as we send William Kidd there first! Are you... not even as good as William Kidd's pirates and slave traffickers?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually heated up with the words of Major General Serviati, as the officers began breathing heavily and clenched their fists, looking at the two legion commanders.

"No rest. We attack the city overnight! I'll make sure William Kidd doesn't even have time to urinate," declared Major General Serviati, who, for the first time, did not consult with Layton beforehand and unilaterally ordered both legions, "There's no need to hold a reserve anymore. The main reserve's four brigades will lead the attack! Report the centurions from your brigades who still have combat capability, to form temporary brigades responsible for the second wave of the offensive. Move out now! Within one hour I want to hear the bugle for charge! If I don't, I'll execute the four brigade commanders!"

Even Layton was taken aback by this statement, but he still held back from saying anything. It was at this moment that the officers realized that General Antonio Serviati, who appeared more rational, may actually be the more crazed of the two legion commanders.

Since the beginning of the siege on Tachi, the Venetian army always kept four full brigades as reserves. This reserve force was never intended to be deployed for the siege, but rather to defend against possible reinforcements from the Federation.

You cannot count on the enemy's failure in war. To commit the four brigades of reserves to the assault means that the two legions have reached the point of no return.

If the Venetian navy makes a mistake and even a small support force from the Federation lands at Red Sulfur Harbor, it would spell disaster for both the Great Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion.

But the legion commanders have already made up their minds to spare no expense, and everyone else just needs to obey.

The numbers of the remaining capable centurions were rapidly gathered, and Lieutenant Tang Juan's centurion was notably among them.

"Conti! You lead a temporary brigade!" Layton called out to an officer, then signaled to another, "Field! You too! And then…"

"Commander…" someone interrupted Layton, solemnly reminding him, "... Colonel Field, he fell this morning."

The parchment in Layton's hand, which had been corrected for the fifth time, dropped to the floor.

...

...

Winters and Moritz stood silently in front of Colonel Field's body.

The colonel's face was hidden under the flag, but he would never breathe again.

"Colonel Field is gone, he will never talk, laugh, or race with me again... Is he just gone like this?" Winters felt short of breath.

"Let's go," Moritz pulled Winters away, "This is just Field's body, not Field himself."

The first red flare came from Colonel Field, and the second red flare came from another fallen officer, Colonel Petrach.

By the time Moritz and Winters arrived at the second red flare, that mysterious magician within the city had already killed Colonel Petrach and most of the witnesses, vanishing into the mist.

"If we…" Winters's eyes felt hot, "... if we had arrived in time, could we have…"

"Don't think about such things! Don't even entertain a bit of such thoughts!" Moritz, furious and gripping Winters's shoulders tightly, chided sharply, "You, me, Field, we are all going to die, it's just a matter of time. Field is dead, part of us died with him. But he doesn't hurt, regret, or feel sad, no matter what you think, it won't affect him. Got it? Don't feel guilty for the dead, it's only self-gratification for the living, and it's unnecessary."

Three officers were killed in today's siege, all dying from organ damage and severe internal bleeding. Autopsy conclusions, on-site investigation, and testimonies all pointed to that elusive magician.

The strategy to use high-mobility Spellcaster squads to counter the enemy magicians was proven to be an utter failure.

However, the joint command also discovered that using elite Spellcasters as the spearhead of the offensive yielded astonishing results.

That afternoon, Moritz and eight other Spellcasters received new orders.

They were to lead the main attack force, striking at the walls first.