Chapter 32 – Siege Warfare

Since the apprentice-level spell—Minor Fireball—was widely accessible, most apprentice mages could cast it. In such wartime conditions, it served as an ideal spell for sniping enemy heavy units. Thus, when over a dozen apprentice mages independently chose this spell, the result was more than ten blazing fireballs soaring simultaneously toward the siege ladder adorned with intricate runes!

Just as the fireballs neared the enemy, opposing mages took action. At the apprentice level, using offensive spells to counter enemy offensive spells was the primary method of interception. In the blink of an eye, a multitude of fireballs—outnumbering their own—shot forth from behind enemy lines. Nearly all allied fireballs were struck mid-air, erupting into over a dozen massive bursts of flame. Shattered embers scattered like meteors across the battlefield, raining down upon the combatants. Many enemy soldiers were struck by the flying sparks, and the magically sustained flames could not be extinguished by mere physical efforts. The nearly thousand-degree heat effortlessly turned soldiers’ iron armor red-hot, searing their flesh with a sizzling crackle. Soon, the ground was littered with writhing, howling soldiers, their bodies emitting the scent of roasted meat!

However, the enemy’s combat professionals remained largely unscathed. The residual flames were insufficient to penetrate their battle aura-protected bodies. Ignoring the fallen, crimson “iron cans” rolling in agony, they charged relentlessly toward the city walls with unwavering roars.

The enemy’s fireballs were soon intercepted in turn. Though a few slipped through due to their numbers, striking the walls and hurling shattered granite and charred limbs into the air, the majority exploded overhead, dealing greater damage to the enemy forces blanketing the battlefield. Their once-unified formation now lay in disarray. Scattered, blazing fires dotted the ground below the walls, raising the ambient temperature to over forty degrees Celsius. In the heat-distorted air, the enemy warriors grew not dispirited but increasingly frenzied and bloodthirsty—for the end of their disadvantageous position was near.

The siege ladder had been hoisted against Konola City’s thick, though not towering, walls. Warriors channeled their battle aura, attempting to cleave the ladders, but the glowing runes on the sturdy structures rendered the assaults of apprentice-rank warriors futile. Even apprentice-level warriors could only manage to carve deeper scratches into them!

“Alchemical Ladders, huh? It seems this so-called prince has truly secured the Imperial Kingdom’s backing,” Punk mused with a slight frown. Though low-grade and simple in principle, such alchemical ladders could grant significant advantages in conventional warfare. Their exorbitant cost was equally astounding. In the Faerûn Plane, where alchemical items and the strength and numbers of professionals defined national power, a Kingdom-level state would keep such equipment as a hidden trump card, not deploy it in a mere pursuit war. Only an Imperial Kingdom, with resources dozens of times greater, could afford to bestow such an extravagant “gift.””It seems the enemy is determined not to let the princess escape,” Punk observed, noticing that to speed up their pursuit, the enemy had only brought lightweight equipment like magic cloud ladders—any gear that low-tier professionals could carry counted as lightweight. This meant that destroying these devices would…

BOOM! A deafening explosion erupted from the southern wall of Konola City!

Just two seconds earlier, Lunka had suddenly charged from his commander’s seat toward the wall, roaring, “Mainaixi, you’re dreaming!”

Seeing Mainaixi gathering magical energy to unleash a powerful spell, Lunka, in a fit of shock and fury, transformed into a crimson streak and shot toward Mainaixi like a blazing arrow!

Mainaixi, who had been preparing to destroy the cloud ladders with his spell, was forced to abort his casting and turn to face Lunka’s warhammer, now mere inches away!

After that, Punk only heard an earth-shattering crash as massive chunks of the wall rained down from the sky. Nearly every falling stone slammed into the battlefield, erupting into clouds of blood mist upon impact. The ground soon became pockmarked with craters of mangled flesh and debris. Countless smaller fragments were hurled into the city, and Punk watched as houses crumbled into splinters under the weight of the rubble. Konola City, once filled with the faint sobs of the poor, now echoed with agonized screams and wails! Craters of all sizes left the once-prosperous city in ruins.

But Punk’s focus remained on the battle at the wall. The southern section of Konola’s wall looked as if it had been struck by an intercontinental missile, with most of it collapsed or shattered. The gap continued to widen as the two Formal-Level powerhouses clashed. Even Punk struggled to track their movements at full force, though he guessed Mainaixi was desperately trying to stop Lunka from further damaging the wall.

Despite the wall’s collapse, it had become the battlefield of Formal-Level experts, and no “brave” soul with a “death wish” dared approach.

Feeling the constant tremors through the ground and wall beneath his feet, Punk shook his head. His own fight demanded attention now!

——————Break——————

The spell “Scorching Heat Domain” was relatively obscure among Apprentice-Level evocation spells. In terms of pure lethality, it barely qualified as Apprentice Rank. Its effect was to create an exceptionally vast area of “scorching heat”—well, to professionals, 500 degrees Celsius was merely “warm.”

This spell, designed specifically for inflicting casualties in wars among ordinary people, was typically studied by powerful mages only for academic reference. But today, this “gentle” spell was about to reveal its terrifying, monstrous side!

Punk tossed an inconspicuous orange-yellow ring of fire into the battlefield. Amid the widespread flames, this small fire ring went utterly unnoticed. Enemy soldiers eagerly scaled the cloud ladders, relentlessly climbing over their comrades’ corpses toward the city walls.In the span of a single second, an orange-red ring expanded until it was large enough to engulf three basketball courts. The temperature within the fire ring began to rise uncontrollably, as if magma lurked beneath the surface, soaring to around four hundred degrees Celsius in mere seconds. At this heat, the soil and stones on the ground glowed red and cracked, while the soldiers’ sweat boiled within their skin before it could even seep out. Each breath they took felt like inhaling embers into their lungs, and every inch of their skin began to carbonize, dripping with oils! Enemies trapped inside the fire ring screamed in agony, convulsing and twitching like roasted geese in a microwave, and within less than a minute, they were charred into blackened lumps!

In this otherworld, there was no such thing as humanitarianism. The horrifying scene drew loud cheers from many “ruthless” teammates, though plenty of rookies, unaccustomed to the brutality of war, trembled and vomited violently.

“Perhaps this will snap these rookies out of their naive hero dreams! Consider it a heartfelt lesson from this ‘senior’!” Smile watched as the charred “objects” in crimson armor on the battlefield oozed thick oils, letting out a cheerful whistle.

“This wave of troops cleared out… should make those annoying small fries think twice before spouting cringey, death-defying nonsense like ‘I’ll dig out your marrow with my blade’ with such high morale!” Punk thought to himself with lighthearted satisfaction.

(End of Chapter)