Summoning America

Chapter 30: The Siege of Le Brias

"FIRE!" Captain Rial ordered.

40 ballista emplacements lit up as they launched their explosive bolts at the closest Parpaldian cannons. With astonishing accuracy, 31 of these bolts landed directly or near their targets, rendering 31 Parpaldian cannons inoperable. The ammunition near these destroyed pieces was also ignited, producing intense orange glows that contrasted heavily with the soft white light above. Due to the spacing between each piece, very little collateral damage ensued. However, the spacing also meant that deployment wasn't as rapid as possible, thus giving the Altarans more opportunity to reload and relocate.

In retaliation, 60 of the surviving cannons fired, soon followed by the other 19 as they hurried into position. In an embarrassing display for the Parpaldians, little more than a quarter of the Altaran siege weapons were destroyed, with most shots missing their mark and instead impacting the wall or going over and landing on the vacant buildings behind. However, the Altarans had a significant advantage — rate of fire. Having reloaded and adjusted their aim, the Parpaldian artillery crews managed to score more hits with the second volley, knocking out half of the surviving ballistae and bringing the total count down to 18.

Explosions rocked the sturdy wall, sending pieces of stone and other debris toppling over the edge. Captain Rial, using his binoculars to provide targeting information, dropped his task immediately once he heard a soft yell next to him. He rushed over to the wall, where he saw a set of hands clinging on for dear life to crumbling pieces of stone. He grabbed the hands and pulled up a shaken female magician.

"Thanks for saving me," she said meekly.

Rial nodded. "Stay away from the edges next time," he said before returning to his post.

The magician looked around and picked up her staff, but couldn't find her box of magic gems. Distressed, she paced around before deciding to walk to Rial. "Captain Rial," she muttered.

"What is it, Magician?"

"I've... I've lost my magic gems! They must have fallen off the wall earlier."

Rial sighed. "Alright. Save your mana for now. I'm about to give the order to retreat," he said after putting down his binoculars.

"Retreat? Why would we—"

"The Parpaldians have just destroyed all of our ballistae." He activated his manacomm and gave a grim announcement. "All units: fall back to the lower levels! The Parpaldians have successfully destroyed all of our siege weapons, but at great cost. 40 ballistae and their valiant operators gave their lives to lay waste to more than 60 Parpaldian cannons and their crew. Without these key weapons, however, we must conserve our forces. I will provide an updated strategy from His Majesty once I reach our command center." He turned his attention back to the magician. "Okay, let's go. What's your name?"

Looking up to Rial with a scared, almost child-like face, she responded. "Alina, sir."

"Don't you worry Alina. I'll get you back home in one piece."

——

Parpaldian Camp

"General, our artillery has dealt with the Altaran defenses."

Cius sat up in his bed, coughing as he forced himself up. "Good. Casualties?"

The officer before him faltered, awkwardly pausing before resolving to complete the report. "Uh... 64 cannons and 40 horses lost. We are still counting the casualties among the crew, but it is already over 100."

General Cius sighed, "Over half our artillery, gone. How could this have possibly happened?"

"Sir, the conditions of the battle favored the enemy. They had illumination magic of their own, preventing the darkness of the night from shrouding our troops."

"And so, the battle played out no differently than it would have during the day," Cius muttered.

"Yes, sir."

"Switch out any injured crewmen and have the artillery companies continue to lay waste to their walls. Target the gates, but also ensure that we are able to create other entrances; we don't want to funnel our men into choke points. Speaking of which, where are the land dragons?"

A bead of sweat grew on the officer's forehead. "Ah... they are resting."

"Resting?" Cius eyed the man suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Sir... eight of the land dragons were killed by the very same explosion that put you in this bed. Four others have moderate injuries, while another four have slight injuries."

Cius chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief, causing discomfort and nervousness for the officer. "Well then, I didn't expect the Altarans to be this desperate. The amount of magic gems needed to produce such a blast is already valued in the hundreds of thousands of pasos! The magic powder from that many gems would be enough to sustain our fleet's weapons for months!"

The officer simply nodded.

"Alright then. The land dragons who are not fit for combat: tend to their wounds. The sixteen healthy specimens should be enough to lead the charge. Oh, and prepare a team of our finest soldiers. I want a company to secure the port after the fleet has finished eliminating their coastal defenses. If these Americans had sent them any more weapons, I'd like to capture them."

——

Altaran Royal Castle, Le Brias

King Taara paced around his war room while his generals bickered, arguing about the deployment of their 30,000-strong army. Their incessant yammering was finally silenced by a crackling of static, indicating a new transmission from the Americans. Immediately, they all gathered around the small, handheld device.

"Altaran High Command, this is Davidson. Are you receiving this transmission?"

"Yes," King Taara answered. "This is King Taara speaking."

"Great to hear from you, Your Majesty. Do you still have those ballistae saved up?"

"We do. We've deployed them in accordance with your recommended strategy."

"Okay, good. Parpaldian wyvern lords are currently inbound to your position, likely to attack the castle. There are about ten of them. Your remaining ballistae and wyverns should be able to handle them. I'll leave the details to your generals. We'll send in more updates once we receive them. Good luck, Your Majesty."

"So it seems that the Parpaldians have grown confident enough to deploy their wyvern lords once more. General Holmon, I'll leave the defense of the castle to you. Everyone else, let us retreat to the lower levels. We still need to devise a solid plan of defense for when the Parpaldians eventually break through."