CHAPTER 444: CHAPTER 413: ATTACKING THE FORTRESS

With a tinkling sound.

The camp changed from blue and white to red and white, officially marking the complete occupation by the red and white power.

Inside the various functional tents in the camp, ordinary humans in red and white outfits began to appear.

They cannot leave their respective tents, forbidden from going beyond the camp’s boundaries, belonging to the inherent staff of each tent.

In various soldier recruitment tents, soldiers started to emerge.

A general capable of commanding 500 men appeared and entered the main camp tent, belonging to Horn’s subordinates as well.

And those soldiers who continuously emerged from the recruitment tents were also Horn’s soldiers.

Horn serves as the top general of the entire red and white power; whenever a camp or area is occupied, the army is automatically supplemented based on its size, and these troops are provided free of charge to Horn, along with a supporting general.

These generals and soldiers are all at the level of new recruits, whether in terms of strength or the number of soldiers they can lead. They need to engage in continuous battles to upgrade and command more soldiers.

By nightfall, as the soldiers began to eat, over 3,000 newly recruited soldiers had joined after occupying the camp.

This number was close to the limit of soldiers granted after the camp was occupied.

Kane communicated continuously with Kreya through the Ruby Lapel Pin.

After occupying the camp, they also gained an additional force of over 3,000 troops, though these were all new recruits with only upper copper-level strength.

As a result, the number of soldiers under Horn’s command reached over 10,000.

However, these soldiers could not be led all at once to storm the battlefield; similarly, the enemy would not gather all soldiers on the map to launch attacks on Kane and his group at once.

Horn is the supreme commander of the red and white power, and the number of troops he can command depends entirely on the occupied territory’s power size. His current troop limit should be around 6,000.

The additional subordinates, combined with his original ones, can command up to 1,500 troops together.

Therefore, the remaining soldiers must stay in the camp.

Otherwise, wouldn’t the enemy dispatch a few strong assassin squads to stealthily raid the rear camp and wipe out all the soldiers in the area to take over?

Thus, even if leading troops away from the camp, some soldiers must remain on guard.

After talking with Kreya, they agreed on the assembly time for the next day.

It’s not that Kane and the others didn’t want to take the fortress now.

They could, but their soldiers couldn’t. After a day of battle and forced marches, the soldiers needed a good night’s rest, or else their combat effectiveness would significantly drop.

...

The next morning, all the soldiers assembled outside the camp.

Apart from Kane’s 600 soldiers, 1,000 more selected by Horn’s subordinates were all sorts of melee and ranged infantry.

After all, today’s theme is siege; the knights have minimal role, so they were all left inside the camp.

After selection, they quickly set out towards the fortress with the 1,600 soldiers.

The remaining soldiers received assigned tasks and began patrolling around the camp.

Having insufficient troops to lead doesn’t mean these soldiers would defect; it just means they can’t be led into battle.

But defending, ordering patrols, and such are no problem at all.

This could be considered a kind of mechanism of this world.

"Kane, we have reached the rendezvous point. How much longer do you need?"

From the Ruby Lapel Pin, Kreya’s voice came through.

Hearing Kreya’s words, Kane immediately responded, "About 2 kilometers to go."

Though the two camps were separated on either side of the fortress, Kreya’s was a bit closer to it.

After picking up the pace slightly, it wasn’t long before Kane could see Kreya’s group from a distance.

Compared to Kane, who was only leading over 1,000 soldiers, Kreya’s group boasted more than 6,000 soldiers.

The over 6,000 soldiers belonged to various professions, neatly arranged and pleasing to the eye.

When both forces merged, the two generals approached Horn’s side.

The assembly point was precisely the avenue leading to the fortress.

Around, one could see watchtowers erected every few hundred meters, but no soldier was stationed on them.

From the tracks, it was evident that people had been here not long ago.

"It seems the news of the two camps being occupied has already reached the fortress commander." Horn remarked, noting the absence of enemy soldiers.

"All these soldiers for vigilance and patrol have been recalled."

After a brief exchange, Horn unsheathed his longsword and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Advance!"

The entire formation began moving forward in an orderly manner, with Kane’s team at the forefront.

Watching Kane and the others beside him, Horn couldn’t help but ask, "Are you really confident in capturing the fortress? You know, we currently don’t have any siege equipment."

He was still somewhat uneasy, as attacking a fortress without siege equipment was like striking a stone with an egg.

Hearing Horn’s concern, Kane smiled to reassure him, "Relax, Captain Horn, we’re confident in what we say. We wouldn’t gamble with the soldiers’ lives."

Hearing Kane’s words, Horn nodded approvingly.

Looking along the way, all were traces of retreating patrol and watchtower soldiers.

"The fortress commander knows we’re coming, they definitely know we’re rising from the ashes.

They’re likely sending soldiers for help from all directions. We must capture the fortress quickly; otherwise, with their reinforcements, we’ll be doomed."

Hearing Horn’s words, Kane nodded in agreement.

The dungeon report that Kane and his team obtained was provided by Kreya’s mother, and it is incredibly detailed about the dungeon.

It clearly states that regardless of how the Explorers decide to act later, the primary task in the early stage is to seize this fortress as quickly as possible, or they will surely fail.

The entire fortress must be captured before the enemy realizes what’s happening and before reinforcements arrive, relying on the fortress to conduct defensive warfare and gradually encroach outward.

If the fortress cannot be taken, even if Kane and his team capture surrounding camps, it will be like sitting ducks, slowly consumed by continuously arriving reinforcements.

Even if Kane and his team can hold off thousands, it would be pointless, as the enemy will gather all the Silver-level soldiers together to take them down.

Pulling out over ten thousand Silver soldiers from the forces in the region is entirely feasible.

Of course, these soldiers belong to various camps and cannot just gather randomly, or else there’d be no point in playing, they’d just surrender directly.

The report doesn’t specify detailed actions for later, but the text regarding capturing the fortress is clearly marked in the report, indicating its importance.

After all, failing to seize it means failing to complete the challenge.

From afar, Kane and his team could already see the fortress.

The moment Kane saw the fortress, he finally understood why it needed to be seized quickly.

The fortress is approximately 20 meters tall, flanked by towering cliffs that stand like giant doorframes on either side.

This splendid fortress plays the role of the door leaf.

The fortress is equipped with various city-defense machinery, and soldiers stand densely on it, indicating that they have been preparing for a long time.

After advancing some more.

Captain Horn raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately halted.

This position is just outside the range of the enemy’s attack.

Horn shouted loudly at the fortress, "Mas, open the gate and welcome death, don’t make pointless struggles. Under our attack, you can’t hold this fortress."

A voice from the fortress echoed from afar.

"Horn, I didn’t expect you to still be alive, or even succeed in your counterattack. Yet, that idiot couldn’t even defeat your last remaining few hundred battered remnants."

"But with your current forces, you dare to take this gate fortress? You’re underestimating this fortress. In such a short time, you simply can’t produce many engineering devices, and my reinforcements are about to arrive. You’d better return to camp and enjoy your last moments."

The enemy commander continued taunting Horn.

"Captain Horn, he clearly doesn’t intend to surrender," Kane said with a smile.

Upon hearing Kane’s words, Horn laughed heartily, "Hahaha, of course he won’t truly surrender, it’s just that every battle must start with some cursing, or it feels like something is missing."

After speaking, he solemnly and seriously said to Kane, "Now it’s up to you; I hope you don’t betray our trust."

"Don’t worry."

After Kane spoke, Magic Power surged from his hand, creating a large artillery barrel beside him aimed at the distant fortress.

Consuming Magic Power.

A shell quickly smashed into the fortress wall.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion erupted on the wall, startling the enemy commander out of his ongoing insults, immediately interrupting his voice.

He quickly turned to look at the explosion site, seeing a section of the wall blackened, with some stones slightly dislodged.

Seeing this, the commander breathed a sigh of relief, patting his chest, and continued mocking them.

"Is that all? Is this your confident fortress attack method? Hahahaha, almost blasted the dust off the fortress, scared me to death. Haha..."

Listening to the enemy commander’s insults, Horn turned to look at Kane.

"Be patient, I’m testing the wall’s hardness. If I use too much force later, repairing it would be troublesome," Kane said calmly.

Upon hearing Kane’s words, Horn nodded, no longer preoccupied.

Kreya and others remained composed, completely trusting Kane to penetrate this fortress.

After all, they’ve seen some of Kane’s feats and know that not only can he penetrate the fortress, but potentially level it entirely.

Kane continued adjusting the artillery’s caliber and the intensity of the shells.

Shells kept exploding on the enemy’s fortress.

And the enemy commander’s taunting slowly turned from arrogance to panic amid the explosions.

"Boom!"

Another loud explosion echoed from the fortress.

"Hey! What are you doing? Just come over and fight, stop using magic continuously." Panic was evident in the voice.

This explosion directly created a hole in the fortress wall.

Seeing this, Horn beamed with joy.

Observing the results of the shell, Kane nodded in satisfaction and dispersed the cannon beside him.

He now understood the fortress’s hardness well enough to ensure he could pierce the fortress with one strike.

However, he didn’t plan on using artillery.

Dragon Horn appeared above his head, Dragon Scales at his neck, Golden glows spread across his body, and a Light Wheel appeared on his back.

He had returned to the most powerful state after a long time.

Mechanical structures began spreading in his hands, overlapping and growing larger.

In a flash, Kane appeared at the fortress gate.

The huge machinery in his hands smashed directly towards the fortress’s massive stone door.