CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 154, THE SIEGE OF YULSEN

The Middle Army, comprising over eighteen thousand soldiers, began to return en masse. Marquis Angxi and his deputy general, Baron Pierre, were discussing military affairs. After the total defeat of the Left Army, this Knightly War was already fated to end in failure.

"After Adelaide’s foolish defeat, our war is doomed," Marquis Angxi said bitterly, wishing Adelaide had already fallen in battle.

"There’s no way around it now; we must head back to support Yulsen Castle, where a large amount of military supplies and rations for the army are stored!" Baron Pierre was anxious, saying, "Yulsen Castle has only a thousand defenders and a few dozen knights. Facing the Beastman Army, they won’t hold out long."

"Are you suggesting we march directly?" Marquis Angxi pondered for a moment, seeking Baron Pierre’s opinion.

Baron Pierre immediately nodded. "We need to hurry. The army has only seven days’ rations left. Without supplies from Yulsen, if the soldiers run out of food, they will collapse."

Marquis Angxi first nodded in agreement; their remaining rations were already scarce, previously relying entirely on Yulsen Castle for supplies. Now, they had essentially lost their food supply. Without rations, even the strongest knights wouldn’t have the energy to fight.

But the blond-haired blue-eyed marquis thought for a while, then suddenly shook his head. "No, no, Pierre, if we can think of this, don’t you think the Beastmen can too? Do you know what tactic I’ve thought of?"

"The Beastmen will besiege Yulsen Castle but won’t launch an all-out assault, instead letting Adelaide and his troops shiver and panic within the tall walls. Then... the Beastmen are likely to set an ambush along our way back, catching us off guard!"

Marquis Angxi graduated from the Knight Academy in Kulona, excelling in tactics. He was keenly aware that if they wanted to return quickly to support Yulsen Castle, they understood this, and so did the Beastmen.

"Deploy a large number of scouts; we must ensure we know if there are ambushes nearby as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" the knights responded loudly.

Indeed, over the next two days of marching, relying on the relentless scouting of a large number of scout cavalry, the scouts repeatedly discovered ambushes, and the Middle Army could cautiously advance. Under Marquis Angxi’s command, the large force steadily embarked on the return journey.

The Beast King "Blood Horn" Maras quickly realized that humans were aware of the ambush, so he changed tactics and began attacking Yulsen Castle with all his might.

One by one, Beastman War Gangs attacked Yulsen Castle under the Beast King’s command. Inferior Horned Beasts cut down forests, crafting makeshift ladders, while Cyclops hurled stones, suppressing the peasant archers on the ramparts.

Count Adelaide anxiously hid inside the tower. Every scream and thud from outside seemed to drive the count insane. One day’s assault had resulted in over a dozen knights and more than two hundred peasant soldiers falling.

Fortunately, the castle gates were robust enough. The Beastmen lacked powerful siege weapons, and after a day of assault, relying on the knights’ and soldiers’ relentless sacrifice and determination to guard to the death, the Beastmen left behind a field of corpses and retreated.

At night, humans needed rest, but the Beastmen didn’t. Hence, the frantic Count Adelaide immediately grabbed the Magic Communicator: "My Marquis, my Marquis, it’s already the third night. What about the promised reinforcements?"

"The Beastmen have set numerous ambushes on the marching route! We must advance cautiously, Adelaide. The Beastmen shouldn’t be attacking you with full force," Marquis Angxi’s doubtful voice came from the Magic Communicator.

"No! The Beastmen are attacking Yulsen Castle with all their might, attacking with all their might!" Adelaide shouted frantically into the Magic Communicator. "Listen, my Marquis, that’s the sound of my soldiers and me resisting!"

Outside the tower came the roaring of Beastmen and the sound of boulders crashing against stone walls. Clearly, after a brief rest, the Beastmen were about to launch another wave of attacks.

"What? Hello? Adelaide? Can you hear me? Hold on, resist, we’ll arrive within a day at most!" Marquis Angxi immediately realized the battlefield situation had changed.

The Beastmen had given up ambushing them on the road and turned to assaulting the castle.

He immediately ordered the Middle Army to quickly strike camp and hasten back to support Yulsen Castle.

"Should we notify the Right Army to assist?" some knights asked.

"No need, we are sufficient," Marquis Angxi was confident of annihilating the Beastman Army. He didn’t want the Holy Grail Knight and the third son of the Red Dragon Duke to share in the credit. Also, even if the Right Army were to aid, it would take several days.

Along the way, Count Adelaide’s pleas for help came repeatedly, each more urgent than the last. The Beastmen continuously assaulted Yulsen Castle, causing heavy casualties among the defenders.

At noon on September 13th, under a clear blue sky, a rarity within the forest, the situation at Yulsen Castle had worsened to an extreme. Over half of the defenders were casualties, with only a few continuing to stubbornly resist. The rain of arrows from the ramparts had significantly thinned, smoke billowed everywhere across the castle, and many of the walls suffered severe damage. The Beastmen were now at the castle gates.